


Becoming Dust

by Blackruby



Series: Blue Heart [4]
Category: Shall We Date?: Guilty Alice
Genre: Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Magic/Fantasy, Mystery, Personal Growth, Romance, past emotional abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:49:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 35,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23317894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackruby/pseuds/Blackruby
Summary: This is part of a series of fanfics inspired by NTT Solmare's otome game Shall We Date? Guilty Alice. There's an exposition in the first scene of Blue Heart that should bring everyone up to speed. Dee is my own creation, along with her backstory while the other characters belong to the developer. From BOTF forward, I pretty much went to town and started to create this world as I liked it and develop points from the preceeding stories. That's how what started out as a game inspired fanfic became something that was very nearly original with borrowed characters and premise.In the months after the dramatic events that had almost ended in the destruction of Wonderland, work has turned to trying to prevent a reoccurence. Meanwhile, the Wonderland natives have to come to terms with how close they came to losing Dee forever.Dee and Ash are exploring their relatively new relationship with each other and are hopeful for their future, but the past seems determined to catch up the present, both in Wonderland and in the other world.
Series: Blue Heart [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675258
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter One

The sound of raindrops pattered on the frosted glass windows of the main hall of Chalk Castle, there were many rows of chairs set up in lines and there wasn’t an empty seat in the whole room. At the front there was an open casket on a slightly raised platform, inside it lay the White King Shiro, Sakuto’s father. Dee stole a glance at Sakuto as they stood for another prayer to see how he was holding up.

Sakuto’s eyes were red rimmed but he was keeping his composure. He had Bill on one side and Noir on the other, giving him their silent support. Even though King Shiro had been ill for a long time, it didn’t make his passing any less painful for Sakuto, the castle staff and all the citizens of Gardenia. He was a much loved leader and the people packed into this hall were only a small fraction of those who wanted to pay their respects to him.

Despite the weather, the streets between the castle and the mausoleum were already lined with mourners. After the ceremony, the coffin would be taken by carriage in a procession and laid to rest alongside previous monarchs. Dee hoped that after all this, Sakuto would finally allow himself to rest and grieve. He had barely slept in the days before his father’s passing and then had thrown himself into making arrangements for the funeral to stay distracted.

All of Sakuto’s friends had been staying in the castle with him, and it wasn’t just Sakuto they were looking after. The maids, butlers, gardeners and other staff were all struck with their own bereavement too. Mad and Dee had been helping in the kitchens, making sure everyone stayed fed. Noir and Ruber had been dealing with the day to day issues of keeping Gardenia ticking over during this sad time, with Cardia helping them. Bill had glued himself to Sakuto’s side and bullied him into eating and sleeping whenever he could. 

Ash and Joker had been doing a lot of the running around, making sure everyone knew what the arrangements were and handling any enquiries from the citizens. A lot of people from the other nations had offered to help in any way they could. Dee had met and spoke with the White King on a number of occasions but she wouldn’t have called their relationship close so she’d managed to keep her composure right up until a choir of children from Santorina sang a beautiful song of gratitude in tribute to the kindness the Crown of Gardenia had shown them.

As her tears traced her face and fell, Dee felt someone take her hand and give it a comforting squeeze. She glanced to her right and saw Ash was looking at her, his own amber eyes were shining with emotion. Dee gave her boyfriend’s hand a squeeze back and took out a packet of tissues from her pocket, offering him one before taking her own and drying her eyes. Then it was time for Sakuto to deliver his eulogy, he got up from his seat and stood at the lectern.

“I truly thank you all, for coming here today and for all the kind words that have been sang and spoken. I wasn’t sure what I could add to the tributes already given, then I realised I should talk about my father, the man, rather than my father, the king.” Sakuto’s voice had the unmistakable crackle of someone who was holding back tears but he was still able to project his voice clearly.

“My father tutored me personally, he could have hired any number of teachers in all the subjects a young prince needed to be well-versed in, but he didn’t. He told me once that education didn’t just mean learning facts, figures, laws and past events. That’s just information and knowledge, he said, education is that… and much more. It’s about the values, morals and ethics to interpret that information, to know why that event was wrong and why this law is necessary. Things he knew I’d need as I got older, not because I was the heir to the throne, but because I was his son and he wanted me to grow up to be the best person I could be.” Sakuto had managed a small smile as he thought back fondly to those days, those lessons he learnt from him.

“That education was the greatest gift he could have given me; it included the knowledge that learning doesn’t just stop when we hit adulthood. We keep going, keep improving our minds and our hearts all throughout our lives. That’s the legacy he left for us all. There’s knowledge, education and then wisdom. You need both of the former if you’re ever going to obtain the latter and even then, there’ll still be room for more.” Sakuto spoke with passion as he articulated his ideals before he turned and addressed the man lying in the coffin. “Father, I’ll never forget a word of what you taught me. I hope to make you proud.” Sakuto bowed deeply to the former White King. Noir spontaneously stood up and followed suit, soon the entire congregation had got to their feet and bowed in his honour.

That brought the poignant ceremony to an end, the casket was closed and carried out slowly and reverently to the waiting carriage. It had a canopy but open sides so the coffin was visible but kept dry for the most part. There was a similar carriage that followed behind the first that contained Sakuto, Ruber and Noir. The rest of the assembly were to walk behind in procession.

Dee shivered as a cold breeze blew through, she was walking with Ash who was holding a large umbrella for them so they didn’t get soaked. Dee looked at the mourners that lined the streets of Chalk Town.

“There’s definitely a lot more than just Gardenian citizens here.” Dee murmured, some people were openly crying, others were holding flowers as they tried to see the casket as it passed them.

“Yes, King Shiro held a position of the utmost respect all over Wonderland.” Mad answered from Dee’s other side. “He was known for his philanthropy even outside his own borders. Today isn’t just a loss for Gardenia, it’s a loss for the whole realm.” Mad couldn’t resist using his cane to conjure up some umbrellas for the drenched citizens who had been standing outside for so long.

It wasn’t far to the city’s cemetery and they got there within a few minutes, even at their slow pace. The coffin was removed from the carriage to be taken to the mausoleum. Sakuto turned to address the crowds before he followed them.

“It warms my heart to see so many people out in force to say farewell to my father. I apologise that there isn’t enough room for everyone inside the grounds as I know a lot of you have flowers and presents you want to give him.” Sakuto looked up at the unrelenting rain. “I don’t want anyone to be out in this terrible weather any longer than necessary, so if you have anything you’d like to give, then hand it over to Miss Dee and Mad. They’ll arrange everything nicely and collect the cards for me to read later. Then please head home and warm yourselves up.”

Once he’d said his piece, Sakuto turned to resume following his father with Noir, Ruber and Bill. Dee turned to her task as people started to approach her. Joker and Cardia worked on keeping the citizens in an orderly queue to keep everyone safe, Ash was stood between Dee and Mad to keep the pair dry with his umbrella. His best friend and girlfriend were taking the bouquets of flowers and other tributes and either attaching them to the fencing or arranging them nicely on the ground. 

They were trying to make sure that no gift got completely covered by any others. It took some time but eventually they’d received everything. The sight was truly breath-taking, there wasn’t a spare space anywhere on the metal grating on either side of the gates, matched with a deep line of gifts on the path below. The rain had finally stopped as Dee took a step back and looked at the physical manifestation of devotion the White King had inspired.

“A person’s contribution to the world can be measured by those moved enough to come and say goodbye when they’re gone.” Dee spoke aloud to herself, that was something her father had told her at her grandmother’s funeral when she had passed away. It was something that was engraved into her heart. “You obviously left the world a much better place than how you found it. Rest well, Your Majesty.”

“What a lovely sentiment…” Sakuto’s voice spoke from where he’d emerged through the gates, having overheard her. Dee could see tearstains on his face, probably the finality of laying his father to rest had broken through his front of strength. “Come on, I’m sure there’s a lot of cleaning up to do at the castle.” Bill shook his head from behind Sakuto.

“I swear if I find you carrying a broom later instead of getting some rest, I’m going to beat you with it.” Bill steamrolled over his friend, Sakuto was going to take care of himself for once whether he liked it or not.

A few hours later and Dee was carrying a mug of hot chocolate as she walked through the palace halls, she knocked on the door to Sakuto’s room and opened it when he called to her. Sakuto was sitting at his desk going through the cards that Dee and Mad had collected from the well-wishers. Dee walked over and put the mug down.

“Here, I brought you something sweet and decadent.” She told him. Sakuto smiled and picked up the mug, taking a deep inhale. Dee nodded to the stack of cards. “Those can wait till tomorrow, you know, they aren’t going anywhere.” She was hoping to convince Sakuto to have a lie down.

“I know, I guess part of me is worried that if I don’t read them now, I might not be able to bring myself to do so at a later date.” He took a sip of the hot chocolate and rubbed his eyes tiredly; it had been a long, hard day on top of what had already been a long, hard week.

“We both know you wouldn’t do that, you’ll read every single one because someone took the time to write it to you and your father.” Dee told him with a knowing smile before she looked around. “Where’s your shadow?” She asked, referring to Bill.

“He went to help them take down the platform in the hall, he is the best person for those sorts of jobs after all.” Sakuto went quiet as he stared into his mug, losing himself in his thoughts until he felt Dee stroking his hair soothingly.

“I know you’re much happier thinking about others than thinking about yourself, but I want you to know you can let go in front of me.” She smiled when he looked up at her. “Slightly mangling your own words, I’m here for Sakuto, the man, as well as Sakuto, the prince.” Sakuto’s ice blue eyes filled up as if she was giving him permission to cry. Dee wrapped her arms around Sakuto and sat down on the arm of the chair as Sakuto finally allowed himself to cry properly for his much beloved father.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of past emotional abuse.

A few days later and Dee had invited Sakuto out to a café for a change of scenery for him. They’d been joined by a handful of the others, namely Mad, Noir, Bill and Opera. They were sitting at a table indoors as it was still a little too early in spring to be sitting outside. The group were trying to keep up a constant string of chatter as even though Sakuto wasn’t joining in much, he was listening attentively.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, what did you decide to use for your totem, Opera?” Dee asked as she picked up her mocha and had a sip, the two women had a very close relationship that was almost sisterly already even though they’d only met a few months ago.

“Oh, I just picked whatever came to hand, a crucible I use in my research as it happens.” Opera shared her little brother’s sweet tooth so she was drinking a cup of tea laden with sugar. “Anyway, how are you feeling in yourself? No ill effects?” Opera was always questioning Dee regarding her health, hyper aware that they still didn’t know enough about the precise mechanics of the process where Lory replenished her power from the magic in Dee’s ‘Heart’.

“Nope, and the fact I don’t have to trade sleep for time in Wonderland means I actually feel better than I have in a long while.” Dee admitted as she broke her chocolate chip muffin in half and gave Bill part of it. It didn’t matter who was eating what, Bill always wanted some so giving him half of everything was a force of habit for her now.

“Are you sure that’s not more to do with you being all loved up with Ash?” Bill teased her, making Dee tap him sharply on the back of his hand with her teaspoon in reproach and he laughed. “Where is he anyways?”

“I dunno, it’s not like we live in each other’s pockets. Probably doing something for Aunt Irena considering his other regular partner in crime is here too.” Dee grinned at Mad who was too busy eating a chocolate brownie to notice she was talking about him. Her phone beeped and she picked it up. “Speak of the devil, he’s asking where we all are.”

“Got any cake contests coming up? I’ve been dying to go to one since I saw that video of the one you won.” Opera declared as Dee sent Ash a message and put her phone back down.

“I’ve been checking the listings, the only one that’s caught my eye is quite a few weeks away. Its theme is more of a challenge. ‘Do something that’s never been done before!’ Literally that. I’ve been wondering if there’s something I can do with non-standard cake shapes.” Dee informed them as she lifted her mug again and took a thoughtful sip.

“Well Bill might be able to make you a custom cake tin if needs be, his speciality is wood but he knows what he’s doing with metal too.” Noir suggested, making Bill blink at him for a moment before he turned to Dee and nodded.

“If you can give me some idea of what you want, then I’m pretty sure I should be able to knock something up as an initial prototype.” Bill told Dee with a smile. “Though I’m busy for the next couple of days. There’s been some reports of some sort of strange creatures at the Eventide Swamp in Alchemilla that the Elders want me to look into first.” That intrigued Dee and she was about to ask about it when the door to the café opened and Joker walked in followed by Ash. Joker had his motorcycle helmet in his hand, he’d probably had a lesson earlier, he’d been learning how to ride a motorbike for a few months now and it wouldn’t be long until he was ready to take his test.

“Hey there!” Mad greeted them and stood up. “What do you guys want? I’m heading up to the counter anyway.” The two newcomers gave Mad their orders and grabbed a seat each, Ash taking one besides Dee.

“Aunt Irena wanted to talk to me to see if I’d start teaching sword skills at the school. Obviously, we don’t expect any wars anytime soon but the Mice have a warrior tradition to uphold, even if it’s mostly theoretical.” Ash told them what he’d been up to that morning.

“That’s cool, she’s asked me if I’d be willing to do some woodworking and crafts work with the students sometime. I’m sure the kids will love it.” Bill commented as Mad came back over with their refills, placing a large slice of cheesecake on the table in front of Sakuto. Dee huffed in amusement at seeing that before someone caught her eye and she blanched.

“Dee? What the hell’s up? You’ve gone as white as a sheet!” Joker noticed and asked in alarm. Dee sank down in her seat a bit and she lowered her voice.

“I spotted someone from my past a couple of tables over, I can’t say much, I don’t want him to notice me under any circumstances.” If Dee slid any further down in her seat she was going to end up under the table. Opera frowned, muttering something to herself before drawing a cross on the table with her finger.

“There, no one who isn’t sitting at this table can hear us now. I’ll even prove it!” Opera put her fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle… but no one else in the café even blinked. “See? Now sit up and tell us what’s going on.” Dee pushed herself back into her chair and glanced over to double check, but it was definitely him.

“Dark haired guy, two tables over, nearest to the window. His name is Kieran, he’s one of the guys who pretended to carry on a relationship with me so he could use me for money.” Dee still had her voice slightly lowered, more out of habit. Ash frowned and located the guy with his eyes, he was seated on his own from the looks of it, drinking coffee and reading from an e-reader or tablet. “I was sixteen, he was twenty two. Proposed to me with a ring bought with my own money, I was such a naïve idiot.”

“ _He was my whole world, I’d latched on to him like a lifeline, looking for anyone willing to distract me from my grief and loneliness. When we first met, he was attentive and charming, he always seemed to know exactly what to say, exactly what I wanted to hear. But his every word was calculated to manipulate me into doing what he wanted.”_

Dee could see her younger self in her mind’s eye. Sixteen year old Dee was sitting in a black haired man’s lap, he had a lazy arm around her as he smoked a cigarette and picked up another can of strong lager. 

“Why weren’t you answering your phone earlier? You said we’d go to the park together.” Teenage Dee asked, coughing a little at the cloud of smoke her fiancé exhaled with a sigh.

“No, you decided we were going to the park together, it was your suggestion not mine.” Kieran’s voice was condescending and exasperated. Dee frowned as she chewed her lip and tried to recall the conversation they’d had last night. “See? You never remember things right when you’ve had a drink. You become such a demanding little princess!”

“ _Before long, things began to change subtly. He’d say something to me one day, then convince me that I’d made it up when I mentioned it the next day. In hindsight it’s obvious he was gaslighting. Causing me to doubt myself and become emotionally dependent on him… and he succeeded. Towards the end all he had to say was how he’d like X or Y and I’d buy it for him without a second thought like it was my own idea and free choice. He had me very well trained. Things carried on that way for almost a year before I caught him with another woman – in my own goddamn flat.”_

Dee was supposed to be waiting for him at the pub, normally she’d have sat there until he turned up belatedly and convinced her that she’d got the time wrong again. But for some reason, today was different. Something deep inside her had told her to go home, and when she got there, she found Kieran having sex with an older blonde on the couch. She’d screamed at them both, demanding to know what they thought they were doing in her flat.

“Your flat?” The woman queried, at least having the decency to start getting dressed again, Kieran just sat on the couch with a cushion across his lap as he lit up a cig. “You told me this was your place!” Kieran laughed and Dee would never forget what he said next as he gestured airily all around with his hand.

“It is. All of this, everything here, it’s all mine. Ignore this stupid little brat, she’s convinced herself we’re in a relationship. As if I’d go out with an immature kid like her.”

“ _I grabbed one thing, my music box, then I ran from the flat and I never went back. I tossed my phone and cancelled all my cards to cut him off. Essentially, I went into hiding. I knew if Kieran found me, he’d be able to convince me to come back. Somehow make it my fault that he was cheating on me. I couldn’t take that risk, I needed to break the hold he had on my mind. I hid in a bedsit for about a month before I felt brave enough to go back out into the world. I found a new place to live, a place most of you know well… and you already know the rest of that story.”_

When Dee finished speaking, Joker went to stand up from the table but Noir anticipated the movement and clamped a hand on to his shoulder and roughly pushed him back into his seat.

“Sit. Down!” Noir told him, cutting Joker off before he could argue with him. “If you want to go and slice the guy to ribbons then don’t do it in front of a room full of witnesses, genius. Besides Dee doesn’t want him to notice her.” Joker grumbled and swore extensively under his breath, giving Mad a meaningful look. Mad’s eyes had their darkened edge as he disguised a wave of his cane as him reaching up to smooth his hair out of his face.

“What the?!” The startled shout made Dee look over as Kieran jumped to his feet, his coffee having somehow spilled into his lap, some splashing onto his e-reader. Dee quickly averted her eyes as he ran past their table to the men’s room. It took everything Bill had not to ‘accidentally’ stick his foot out to trip the man up.

“Were one of you behind that?” Dee asked as she eyed the three magicians at the table, and she could tell from Mad’s face it was him. “I didn’t ask you to do anything. I’ve never seen the point in revenge. All it does is continue the cycle of hurt.” 

“Everyone needs to get what’s coming to them though, one way or another.” Ash interjected; he had a protective arm around Dee’s shoulders as he glared a hole through the toilet door. Sakuto had taken Dee’s hand at noticing she was shaking.

“Yes, but no one has the right to take the law into their own hands. Best leave it to fate herself.” Sakuto was just as appalled and angry as the rest of them at hearing the details of things Dee had only alluded to previously. But all that mattered to him was how Dee was feeling right now. “Do you want to go before he comes back out?” Sakuto asked her when she looked to him. 

Dee nodded and the group stood from the table without another word, Opera drawing another symbol on the surface to undo the spell before they walked out the door.


	3. Chapter Three

Dee and Joker were picking their way through a dank quagmire. The Eventide Swamp certainly lived up to its name, the trees were so densely packed that very little sunlight trickled through the gaps between the leaves, making it look like it was permanently dusk. There were next to no trails or settled footpaths as hardly anyone came through the swamp voluntarily. Joker’s foot slipped off the rock he was standing on into the stagnant mud pool and he struggled to pull it back out without losing his shoe.

“Remind me what the hell we’re doing in this godforsaken cesspit?” He grumbled as the pair of them crossed over the bog to some firmer ground, taking a moment to rest and lean against an old dead tree trunk that had fallen over.

“I wanted to check out these ‘strange creature’ rumours and you’re the only one I could ask to come along who wouldn’t stop me going in the first place.” Dee replied as she rubbed her muddied hands against some spongy moss to clean them. “This place is so dark and cold, no wonder no one comes here.” The pair of them were careful not to let their guards down, there were wild animals in this swamp that they had to be wary of, even without the rumours.

“Yeah, forested wetlands like these are pretty much impossible to settle in so people tend not to try and tame the land like they do elsewhere.” Joker wrinkled his nose up, the damp air around them smelt musty and decayed. “Treehouses might wo-” A loud crack and splash made the pair of them stand up straight in alert, drawing their daggers in anticipation. 

They were both completely silent as they strained their ears to hear anything, but apart from the chirruping of crickets and cicadas, they didn’t hear anything suspicious. Joker was about to sheathe his knives when he felt Dee stiffen next to him.

“Joker, look over there.” She was pointing across the small clearing at the treeline, Joker looked but he couldn’t see anything obviously out of place. “The sunlight is really struggling to get through to here, and even then, it’s behind us… so why are the shadows of those trees pointing _this way_?” She continued and Joker finally caught on to what she meant.

As if realising their cover was blown, the shadows began moving as if they had a mind of their own. They lifted themselves from the ground and formed vaguely familiar shapes, some stood on two legs like men, some appeared to be on all fours, like wolves. These stealthy creatures had been able to get close enough to circle them before Dee had noticed them. The pair of them were surrounded, standing back to back inside a ring of hostile entities.

“Looks like we’ve got no choice but to fight our way out.” Joker’s voice was calm but determined, it took the edge off of Dee’s fear as she’d been wondering if conventional blades would even harm a shadow. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks, and I’ll watch yours.” Dee answered as the first of the shadows leapt into the fray. Dee let her instincts and the lessons Joker had given her take over. In fact, because the two of them had fought together so often, they were able to sync up their rhythms for maximum effectiveness. Joker would send one attacker flying with a kick and Dee would finish it off before it could recover and vice versa.

Thankfully these things were vulnerable to normal steel, despite their nebulous forms. There was no blood and they seemed to dissipate into smoke once they were ‘killed’. As it turned out, the pair of them were easily more than enough to take the whole group down. It was over before long and neither of them had so much as a scratch.

“What in the world were those things?!” Dee demanded as she wiped the sweat from her brow once the last shadow had fallen. Joker shushed her and closed his eyes in concentration for a moment. All of a sudden, he pushed Dee hard and she fell into a dense bush. She was about to shout at him when a blood chilling snarl from some kind of beast stunned her into silence.

Dee peered through the leaves carefully as _something_ tore out from the undergrowth, the creature was impossibly fast. It rushed at Joker in a blur of movement, he had no chance to react as he was thrown back several feet. He struck the back of his head against a tree and crumpled into a heap, unconscious. Dee’s heart was in her throat as the unknown beast crept cautiously towards Joker’s fallen form, it stood upright on two legs but had four arms. It looked reptilian, almost crocodile-like, its forked tongue slipping in and out of its mouth like a snake.

Fearing for Joker’s life, Dee grabbed a rock from nearby and threw it into the underbrush behind the creature with all her strength. The beast snapped around at the sound with a hiss, moving at unreal speed again to investigate. Dee took her chance and rushed out of the bushes, she grabbed Joker under both his armpits and dragged him under the cover of the shrubs.

Dee checked Joker over hurriedly, it looked like he was ok apart from the bang to the head. She kept glancing to the clearing anxiously as she shook his shoulders in an attempt to wake him up, but he was out cold. Dee wished she had some way to call for help without drawing that creature’s attention, then all of a sudden, she had a flash of inspiration.

“Let’s have a tea party.” She whispered aloud. Mad had a standing spell over the whole of Wonderland so that he’d know whenever someone proposed to have a tea party so he could join them. She prayed that Mad would hear her voice and come and rescue them quickly. Dee stiffened when she heard hissing again, the reptile was coming back – and worse, it was searching the bushes, looking for them.

Dee looked down at Joker as she broke out in a cold sweat, she only had a split second to make a decision. She readied herself carefully and took a deep breath before bolting out from the foliage in the hopes she could lead the beast away from Joker. Dee knew she didn’t have any hope in outrunning something like that so she scrambled up the nearest tree, hauling herself up among the thick branch cover. 

Dee held her breath as she looked down and saw the creature searching for her, slashing at thickets with its sharp talons in the hopes of flushing her out. _‘Mad, please, get here soon. I don’t know how long it’s going to take it to realise that it should be looking up.’_ Dee’s thoughts were almost like a prayer as she clutched the tree trunk with all her strength.

Not long later, Mad and Ash were searching through the swamp. When Mad had heard Dee’s call and where it was coming from, he realised it was a cry for help and not an invitation. So, he’d grabbed Ash for some back up and had set off for the swamp.

“She’s around here somewhere, I know that much. I hate this dank place; something is messing with my location magic.” Mad muttered in annoyance as they came upon the clearing that Joker and Dee had been in earlier. Ash nodded and began to look through the bushes where he soon came upon Joker’s unconscious body.

“Hey Mad! Quick! Come here!” Ash exclaimed to his best friend as he pulled Joker out and knelt down, checking him over. “Looks like he’s just unconscious, but I can’t see Dee anywhere. Can you do anything to wake him up?” Ash looked up and Mad nodded, he waved his cane and summoned a small bottle of smelling salts. Mad knelt down and removed the cork, wafting it underneath Joker’s nose until he started to stir.

“Wha..? Ow! What the he-” Joker started to say before he sat bolt upright, wincing as the movement cause a sharp pain in his head but he looked around frantically. “Where’s that thing? Where’s Dee?!”

“We were going to ask you that! I was at my place when I heard Dee call to me using my tea party spell. So, we came here to check it out and found you knocked out.” Mad examined Joker’s head as he spoke, waving his cane to heal the small laceration on the back of his scalp. “What were you two doing out here anyway? What happened?” Ash had stood up, eager to resume their search for Dee, he wouldn’t feel better until he saw she was ok with his own eyes.

“Dee wanted to check out the creature rumours that Bill told her about and she dragged me along. Everything was going fine until the shadows came to life and attacked us!” Joker accepted the hand that Ash offered him, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. “Though we managed to handle them pretty easily, but then I sensed something powerful coming. I think I shoved Dee into the bushes just before something stupidly fast pounced at me and threw me into a tree.”

The three of them slowly began moving through the wetlands again, all on high alert for the sounds of anything, be it the beast or Dee. After hearing what Joker said, they were also making sure to take no shadow for granted, testing any very dark ones with sharp prods.

“Dee probably put you into the bushes, called for me, then tried to lead the creature off knowing her.” Mad’s tone wasn’t pleased and he shook his head in irritation. “While that’s admirable, it’s also reckless. I’ve never known anyone as thoughtlessly brave as she is.” Ash unconsciously picked up the pace, hoping they could find her before anything bad happened.

Meanwhile Dee’s shoulders and hips were killing her from holding on to the tree, the reptilian creature had been pacing back and forth countless times over the same area for ages now. It seemed to sense that she was nearby but couldn’t pinpoint exactly where. Dee bit her lip to stop herself from yelping when the beast’s thick, muscular tail struck her tree and jolted her.

As she was watching, she spotted the creature stop and raise its head upwards, its forked tongue flicked into the stagnant air twice before it turned and took off in the other direction at top speed. Dee was puzzled but she was brought out of her thoughts when she saw a familiar trio pass by underneath her.

“Oh! Hey! Up here!” Dee shouted to them as she slowly tried to inch her way back down, her abused muscles were on fire and she slid more than she climbed. Once she reached the ground, she grabbed Joker first to make sure he was alright. Once satisfied that he was fine, she turned, about to hug Ash in relief when she realised from the expression on his face that he was _furious_. “Ash? What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?! My girlfriend seems to be determined to get herself killed one way or another, that’s what’s wrong!” Ash’s angry outburst made Dee jump initially as she’d only heard him shout maybe once or twice before. “How idiotic do you have to be to go poking around a _swamp_ looking for dangerous animals?” Mad and Joker knew better than to get in the middle of a lovers’ spat and wisely kept their mouths shut as Dee bristled a touch.

“I know you were worried, and I’m sorry I scared you. BUT, that said, you need to adjust your tone, Ash, and not speak to me like I’m simple.” Dee’s voice was well controlled, aware that she was more in the wrong right now. She went to fold her arms across her chest defensively but dropped them back to her sides when her shoulders complained. 

“First off; I didn’t come alone, I brought Joker. Secondly; we handled ourselves well until that crocodile thing showed up. Thirdly; I was going to stay in the bushes with Joker but that thing came back and I had to make a split second decision. Fourthly; I knew it was too fast for me to outrun and too strong for me to take down on my own so I hid from it. We’re both fine and I got a really good look at the beast so I can describe it and hopefully someone will know what it is and what it might be doing.” As Dee finished, Ash seemed to deflate as his anger left him and he realised he’d overreacted somewhat.

“…Sorry, I went too far. I’m just glad you’re ok.” Ash admitted and Dee gave him a smile and a hug to show him there were no hard feelings.

“Come on, let’s get out of here and you both can tell me everything. About the creature and about the shadows.” Mad told them as the four of them began the trek back out of the dense swamp.


	4. Chapter Four

Dee was in her flat when there was a knock on the door, she got up and answered it, seeing Bill’s smiling face. He had a large bag in one hand and a bouquet of spring daffodils in the other.

“Oh, how sweet! I love fresh flowers, thank you!” Dee exclaimed as she let him in and took the bouquet from him.

“As much as I’d like to take the credit, I found those on your doorstep. There’s a card with your name on it but nothing else.” Bill told her as he handed it over. Dee took it and looked at it, but it just had her name in block print.

“How strange, why would someone just leave these without knocking or ringing the bell?” Dee asked in confusion as she went and filled a vase with a bit of water, transferring the daffodils into it. Bill shrugged at her as he started to unpack his bag, meanwhile Dee pulled her phone out of her pocket, taking a picture and sending it to Ash with the caption ‘Thank You!’.

“You know, when you first said spherical cakes, I did initially think you’d lost your mind… But you asked, so I delivered!” Bill pulled out two large metal hemispheres. “They clamp together like this to stay liquid tight, then you pour the batter in through the top with a funnel.” He demonstrated as he clipped the two halves together and showed Dee where the hole on the top was.

“Oh wow! This looks ace, I wouldn’t have thought it was just a prototype. One small problem though.” Dee opened her oven and grabbed the sphere and attempted to place it inside, but there was a loud *clang* as it struck the top and bottom. “I’m sorry, I should have sent you the measurements of the oven before we started.” Bill pouted at her for a moment before he went back into his bag again.

“Not sure what you might do with stick cakes but at least these should fit in the oven.” He pulled out several very thin cake tins in varying lengths. “The spiral tin is causing me problems so I’ll have to get back to you on that one.” Dee picked up the thin tins and checked them out with a smile.

“Brilliant, I’m still not a hundred per cent sure what I’m going to do. The only problem with doing ‘something that’s never been done before’ is that you can’t go looking for ideas like you might otherwise do. Let’s test these out, I need to know what effect the tin shape has on baking times.” Dee went to pull her baking utensils out as her phone beeped in her pocket and she checked it.

:: I didn’t send you flowers. Where did you get them? :: Ash asked her. Dee took a snap of the card and sent it to her boyfriend and added.

:: Found them on the doorstep, would have thought they got the wrong place if it wasn’t for this. :: She put her phone back in her pocket and started to whip up a very simple sponge batter, pouring enough in each of the stick tins to fill them two thirds before putting them in the oven. Dee got a cold drink for both of them as they sat on a couple of stools to wait.

“So, I hear that we have you to thank for finally confirming the rumours of some beast in Eventide? I don’t know why but every time I went to investigate, I found nothing unusual.” Bill commented as he opened his can of energy drink and took a swig. “The description you provided was very detailed, there’s people combing all the libraries to see if they can find out what it is.”

“Nah, I didn’t do anything special. I was stuck clinging to a tree for dear life while it wandered around underneath me, praying it wouldn’t look up.” Dee diminished her contribution with a dismissive shake of her head, like she always did. Bill put his drink down, leaning over the counter and flicked her in the forehead. “OW! What the hell was that for?” Dee demanded as she rubbed the spot where he’d flicked. Bill pulled her hand down so he could look her in the eye and said with a completely straight face.

“You are very special, Dee, you only need to look at the number of people whose lives you’ve touched to see that. So, from now on, if you say you didn’t do anything special, then you’ll be corrected by me or whoever else might be there.” Bill smiled lightly as Dee’s cheeks flushed with a tinge of pink.

“Thank you…” She mumbled before she cleared her throat and added. “Does the correction have to come with a forehead flick though? That hurt!” Dee pouted at Bill who laughed and nodded emphatically.

“Of course it does! It’s aversion therapy!” He paused for a second, sniffing the air before a look of horror crossed his face. “I smell burning!” Dee yelped and jumped off of her stool, she opened the oven door and a cloud of smoke billowed out. Dee coughed and grabbed her oven gloves, fishing the three tins out and putting them on the side and turned off the oven.

“Quick! Open the balcony doors before the smoke alarm gets set off!” Dee told Bill who rushed over and did just that. She grabbed her tea towel and wafted the lingering smoke in that direction with another cough. “You know, I’m beginning to think I might be trying to be _too_ clever with this competition.” The pair stepped out on to the balcony for a few minutes.

“You just need to think about it a little more, you’re a problem solver, something will come to you.” Bill encouraged her, putting an arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. Dee’s phone beeped and she pulled it out to check it.

:: Dee, you’re in, right? Come down and meet me out the front of yours! :: It was Joker. Dee tilted her head to the side and showed the message to Bill, who shrugged, not having any more idea than she did.

The two of them did as they were asked, Dee grabbing a coat because it was still too cold for her. However, Bill was one of those strange people who could walk around in shorts in the dead of winter. The pair hadn’t been waiting overly long before a red motorbike pulled up in front of them. The rider was wearing black leathers with a red helmet, he lifted his visor with a gloved hand and Joker was grinning at them.

“Oh my God! You passed your test and got your license?!” Dee exclaimed in pure delight as she pounced on Joker and gave him a hug, he laughed as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a squeeze back.

“Yep, thanks in no small part to you coaching me through my hazard perception and theory test. So, I wanted you to be the first to know.” Joker smiled as Bill took a photo of them with his new wheels to put in the group. Dee had been taking Joker out regularly in cars she hired so he could get used to the roads in this world, narrating any hazards until she literally lost her voice.

“Congrats, dude, I know how hard you’ve worked for it. Not to mention the part time job you took so you could save up for the bike and lessons.” Bill looked absolutely thrilled for him. Joker put the kickstand down and got off the bike, opening the seat compartment and pulling out a spare dark blue helmet.

“I was hoping to pay back the favour and take Dee for a ride, if I can steal her away?” Joker asked, Dee looked surprised for a moment before she nodded eagerly. Bill grinned as she pulled on the helmet and got on the back behind Joker, giving them a wave as they pulled off. 

Dee was glad her visor was down as she knew she had a stupid, goofy grin on her face at the fact Joker had managed to pass his test. She didn’t feel unsafe in the slightest as Joker navigated the roads like he’d been born in this world, she also knew he wouldn’t have taken her for a ride if he doubted his riding skills in the slightest. Eventually Joker turned into a picnic spot that had a brilliant view over the whole city and the pair dismounted.

“Have to admit, I’m sorely tempted to see about buying myself my own car now. I used to love road trips when I was younger, just didn’t see the point in going on any by myself.” Dee admitted as the pair of them took off their helmets and she smoothed down her hair.

“Well you’re definitely not by yourself anymore, that’s for sure. Give me a call anytime and I’ll be your driving partner, count on it.” Joker stretched and lent back against a metal fence staring at his bike like he couldn’t quite believe it himself. Dee settled next to him with an understanding smile.

“It seems a little surreal doesn’t it? Nine months ago, we were walking back from the coffee shop and you stopped dead when you saw a motorcycle flying past, then you started grilling me about them. Look at you now, you’ve got your own bike and a license to ride it.” Dee commented with a proud look. 

“I’ll say, when I threw my name in the hat when the Red Queen was looking for people to go over to this world, I had no idea that my whole life would start changing right from that moment.” Joker looked to Dee and gave her a bump with his shoulder. “Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me, you know.” Dee’s eyes widened as she blushed but she smiled at him, she had been slowly getting better at taking a compliment.

“You’re being very open with your feelings today.” She commented, of course she knew that Joker thought very highly of her, anyone with a functioning set of eyeballs could work that out. He just wasn’t usually one for putting things across in words.

“Yeah, well, nearly losing you made me realise that I should tell people how much they mean to me instead of just assuming that they know.” Joker pushed himself off the fence and stood in front of Dee. “You weren’t the first person to be nice to me, but you were the first person I allowed myself to trust and open up to… Then once you were in, you held the door open and let all the others in too. I went from being a loner to having an extended group of crazy friends and it’s all your fault!” 

“You’re welcome! Glad to be of service!” Dee grinned at Joker and gave him an exaggerated bow before straightening up. “Don’t worry, I’m not sure how I went from loner-to-crazy-town either so we can start a support group.” She held up her fist and Joker laughed before tapping his against it with a nod.

“Deal. You’re stuck with me now, whether you like it or not.” He commented as he glanced to the sky and saw the sun was beginning to set. “Come on, let’s get back before it gets dark, best not to push the beginner’s luck.” Dee was about to pull her helmet back on when her phone beeped so she checked it and saw she had a message from her other half.

:: I asked Mad and Sakuto about the flowers, it wasn’t them. I’ll bet it’s Cardia creeping around! :: Ash’s overprotective jealousy was apparent from the message. Dee grimaced and quickly sent one back.

:: You can’t go accusing people without evidence, hun. I’m sure whoever it was will make themselves known, don’t worry about it. :: She hoped she’d averted a possible disaster as she put her phone back in her pocket, pulled on her helmet and joined Joker so they could head back home.


	5. Chapter Five

A couple of days later found Dee sitting with Lory in her glade, chatting with each other while Noir observed them and made notes. Through their experiments, they had discovered that Dee was able to transfer small amounts of the power in her ‘Heart’ to Lory when they held hands – I.e. through physical contact. The pair of them just ignored Noir and let him get on with his notes and he’d occasionally interrupt them and ask them to do this or that.

Unfortunately, they had confirmed that it wasn’t possible to transfer magic from a ‘Heart’ belonging to a woman from Wonderland in the same way, whether there was another method of transfer was something they had yet to discover. Opera and Noir were by far the ‘project leaders’ though Ruber and Mad collaborated with them regularly on the research. Everyone was determined to crack the problem of Lory’s finite power supply before it became a critical issue again.

“Oh! I don’t know if anyone’s told you of the latest thing that got accidentally invented while they were trying to work me and you out!” Dee declared and she dug her free hand into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. “Don’t ask me about the mechanics, but Opera’s just made it so our phones work automatically in Wonderland and messages can even be delivered between the two realms. Before it took a complicated spell that had to be done every time. Now it’s just some powder that you sprinkle on to it once and you’re set. We’ve all had it done now.”

“That’s good then, at least you know you can always get in touch in a pinch. I imagine there’s all sorts of ways to mix the technology from your world with that of Wonderland, it just takes patience and ingenuity.” Lory commented. “I do wonder what Lady Sonata could have come up with, given the chance to travel to the other world. Her invention of the totems was the key to sustainable travelling between realms, she was a truly brilliant scholar.” Dee nodded her agreement before she yawned involuntarily, Lory let go of Dee’s hand instantly and Noir checked his stopwatch.

“74 minutes this time. Definitely looks like you’re getting better at withstanding these energy transfers. Look this way and let me get a picture for Opera so she can check your ‘Heart’s magic level later.” Noir wrote down the time on his notepad before clicking his fingers and a bulky polaroid type camera dropped into his hands and he took a snap. The photo was spat out with a mechanical whirring and Noir began shaking it to develop it.

“What the?” He exclaimed when he looked at the picture, handing it to Dee when she held out her hand to see. “I did wonder why Mad had been messing around with my film, now I know.” Dee laughed in surprise as instead of a static snapshot, the photograph showed the events just prior to when the shutter was pressed. She saw herself yawning and Lory letting go of her hand before looking over to Noir and he summoned his camera. 

“I would never have thought things from my world could be modified by magic, especially seeing as magic doesn’t exist there.” Dee handed back the picture and shook her head in amazement.

“What do you mean ‘magic doesn’t exist in your world’? Of course it does.” Lory corrected her, getting a very sceptical look from Dee so she elaborated. “If it didn’t, then why do ‘Hearts’ exist there? Women throughout your world have these beautiful magic crystals inside of them even though they don’t know it. For whatever reason, magical knowledge fell out of your history so it’s now considered as nothing but a fantasy but it’s just as real there as here.” Dee looked dumbfounded as she realised the truth in Lory’s words.

“Damnit! Now I want to investigate the Other World and find out why magic use stopped or died out. There are too many things to research! Never mind being King on top of that!” Noir grumbled as he scribbled down a summary of what Lory had said. “Lady Sonata had the right idea, convert the country to light touch government and dedicate the freed-up time to gaining knowledge.”

“Another thing on your never ending to-do list.” Dee said with a sympathetic look. “More things get added than get checked off lately. Improving Gentiana, the enigma of Lory and I, the crocodile thing in Eventide Swamp and now this.” Dee was about to follow up with some encouragement for him when Lory spoke up in shock.

“What’s this about a crocodile in the swamps?” She asked in confusion, a frown on her face. Noir had finished with his notes and sat down with them having put his things away.

“I always forget that you’re not all knowing and all seeing. There’s this reptilian thing that’s moved into the swamps in Alchemilla. Dee and Joker were the first to get a good look at it and soldiers we’ve had posted have caught further glimpses of it. It walks on two legs, has four arms and moves with supernatural speed. There’s no doubt it’s intelligent but we don’t know if it can speak yet.” Noir filled Lory in and her face grew more and more serious.

“This creature… can it command the shadows?” She asked pertinently, making Dee gasp in shock.

“Yes! …Well it definitely has a connection to these living shadow creatures, at least, it wouldn’t surprise me if it created them. Lory, do you know what it is?” Dee asked, leaning towards her in interest and Lory nodded solemnly.

“I wish I didn’t. Centuries ago, when Wonderland was still quite young, there was a city in the area you now call the Eventide Swamp. Lumina, it was inhabited by a community of Sun-worshippers called the People of Light. Unsurprisingly, they mainly practiced Light Magic, however one of their high priests became greedy for more power and began dabbling with the darker forces.” Lory lifted her hand and drew an oval in the air, the image of a city made of what looked like glass appeared within it. It was filled with people who wore white and yellow robes, giving tribute to the Sun.

“Like most greedy souls, he wasn’t anywhere near as smart as he thought he was. He eventually came across a black grimoire and stupidly read a page aloud even though he didn’t understand the words he was speaking. It was a spell of summoning and a creature of darkness was pulled into this beautiful world. The Bandersnatch.” There was a flash in the window to the past and a beast that looked just like the one Dee had encountered emerged from the smoke, the familiar snarl sending a chill down her spine.

“The priest tried to command the Bandersnatch to do his bidding, thinking he’d conjured a simple but powerful animal. He didn’t live long enough to regret his mistakes. The creature rampaged throughout Lumina; his rage knew no bounds. The People of Light had never had need of an army, being the equivalent of a peaceful religious sect. The Bandersnatch called out to the shadows and gave them form and purpose, it was a massacre in the truest sense of the word.” Dee felt a lump in her throat as the city burned, the flames casting even more shadows that came to life and attacked the fleeing crowds. The beautiful glass buildings shattering and collapsing to the ground.

“A handful of people survived the initial attack and hid themselves high in the mountains, but worse was still to come. The beautiful land in and around their former home began to turn in to a bog. The Bandersnatch was using his power to make this world like the one he’d left behind. The swamp creeped ever outwards, the remaining People of Light realised they had to do something or the entire of Wonderland could become a marsh. They saw it as their duty to end what one of their own had unwittingly started.” Before their eyes they watched as the smoking ruins of Lumina became engulfed in wetlands and densely packed mangrove trees.

“Even I don’t know exactly what happened next. All I know is the remaining People of Light called on the Sun herself in that final battle with the Bandersnatch. The magical energy used shook the foundations of Wonderland, but after the dust settled, all was silent from both sides. Up until now I just assumed that they’d destroyed each other.” Lory dropped her hand and the oval disappeared.

“It looks like instead of killing the Bandersnatch, the People of Light probably managed to seal it somehow. Which leads us to the obvious next question; how did it get free again?” Noir spoke thoughtfully before he sighed. “Looks like we’re gonna have to find some way to investigate the swamp, if we can find where it was sealed, we can maybe find some answers to our questions.” He snapped his fingers and a scroll fell into his hand. He opened and spread it out on the ground, it looked like a map of Wonderland.

“You want me to point out where the city of Lumina was? That’s probably a good place to start.” Lory lent over the map and studied the area of the Eventide Swamp; she took the pencil Noir offered her and drew a small circle. “It was in that general area, the mountains there were important in some of their Sun rituals so it wasn’t far from them.” Noir rolled the map back up and tossed it into the air, snapping his fingers again to make it disappear. Dee had been very quiet, seemingly deep in thought but she finally spoke.

“I think we’d have noticed if the swamp was spreading already, maybe the Bandersnatch is still weak from being sealed all this time? But if so, we need to figure out how to deal with it before it gets its power back. There’s no reason to think it won’t continue with its previous plan.” Dee looked over to Noir and Lory who nodded in agreement with her.

“I’ll speak to the other leaders; we can set up people to monitor the borders of Eventide so we’ll know as soon as anything changes. We can then discuss how best to investigate how the Bandersnatch appeared again.” Noir stood up, Dee and Lory followed suit. “It never ends, does it? There’s always something threatening the safety of the world.”

“Yes, but don’t try and shoulder it all yourself like in your Cheshire Cat days. With enough people working on this, we can overcome anything.” Dee had a gift for knowing the right thing to say to encourage and comfort Noir whenever his heart wavered. He smiled at her, when she said things like that, it was hard not to believe in her words.


	6. Chapter Six

What a difference a couple of weeks could make. Chalk Town was decked out in banners, streamers and confetti rained down from the sky as excited citizens cheered as Sakuto rode past in his open top carriage. Today was the day of his coronation, he would be officially crowned as the White King of Gardenia in a ceremony being held in the city square.

Dee knew that Sakuto was still grieving for his father but he was doing alright, all things considered. She was already stood on the dais in the centre of the square, along with Ruber and Noir. Sakuto had insisted she be there, her status had sky rocketed ever since she’d saved Wonderland from the distortions. It was a far cry from when people used to whisper about her behind her back and treated her like a pariah.

The carriage finally arrived, inspiring a massive cheer from the crowds already packed into every available space. The Rabbit Knights had managed to clear a small pathway leading to the platform. Sakuto was wearing full ceremonial robes, white and light blue fabrics made of the finest silk. It did make him look very regal but Dee couldn’t help thinking it must be so hot under all those layers.

Once Sakuto had made it on to the stage, an elderly man bowed to him. He was the Chief Justice of Gardenia; he was the one who would conduct the ceremony today. The judge turned to the crowds and lifted his hand to quiet them down.

“Good afternoon and welcome to you all. It’s my dear honour and pleasure to conduct the coronation today and usher in a new era for our nation. Our laws state that Gardenian monarchs serve the people and it’s only with their permission that a prospective regent will be allowed to ascend.” The elderly man’s voice belied his advancing years, it was clear, strong and sincere.

“Before I ask you for your decision, as is customary, three people chosen by the candidate will be asked to give their opinions first.” The Chief Justice turned towards the three people sharing the stage with him and Sakuto. “The Black King, Noir of Gentiana. The Red Queen, Ruber of Protea and Cynosure of Wonderland, Dee of the Other World. Do you approve of our prince ascending the throne?”

“I do. Sakuto will serve Gardenia faithfully and with his whole heart, there isn’t a doubt in my mind.” Noir fixed his childhood friend with a look full of belief, Sakuto smiled back at him with a small nod. The judge looked to the person stood next to Noir.

“I have nothing but hope and faith that Gardenia will go from strength to strength under Sakuto’s able guardianship.” Ruber’s face was full of warmth as she smiled proudly at seeing one of her dearest friends taking the first step towards his destiny. Dee felt a little sick with nerves when the elderly man finally turned to her, but she swallowed her fear and took a deep breath.

“There isn’t anyone in this whole realm that’s more worthy of this role than Sakuto, he will be a legendary ruler.” Dee looked Sakuto in the eyes as she spoke, adding a silent _‘and I’ll support you every step of the way.’_ in her heart. The Chief Justice smiled at her before walking back to the front of the stage.

“Citizens of Gardenia, you have their opinions, and of course, you have your own. Now is the time to make your choice. Will Prince Sakuto be our next White King?” As soon as the question left his lips, the whole city seemed to explode into raucous, affirmative applause and cheering that carried on for several minutes until the Chief Justice raised his hand once more. “You have spoken, bring forth the Crown.”

A footman came up the stairs to the platform carrying an ornate crown on a velvet pillow. Sakuto got down on one knee in front of the judge, who picked up the Crown reverently and carefully placed it on to Sakuto’s head.

“With this Crown, you are acknowledged as the rightful monarch of our nation. Arise, White King, Sakuto of Gardenia.” The spectators erupted into applause again as the new White King got to his feet and turned to address his citizens.

“My father watched over the Kingdom with a kind and just heart, he has set the standard that I can only hope to emulate. I ask of you all, just one thing, your support. With that, then there’s nothing that Gardenia and Wonderland can’t overcome. I’m proud to serve you all.” Sakuto’s short speech inspired yet another round of applause as he gave his citizens a deep bow.

Later that evening, Dee and Ash were arriving back at Chalk Castle, there was a celebratory ball being held in honour of Sakuto’s ascension. It was a formal event so Ash was wearing a black suit with a light grey shirt with a sky-blue tie. As they arrived, they saw Opera before they got to the grand hall.

“Ah! There you are! I’ve been waiting for you!” Opera was wearing a long formal dress; it was made of a fabric that shimmered and seemed to change colour from black to deep navy depending on the light. Opera stopped in front of Dee with a look of horror on her face. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on wearing that?!” She exclaimed as she gestured to Dee’s clothes. Dee looked down; she was wearing the smart formal clothes she’d had on at the ceremony.

“That was the plan. Why? What’s up?” Dee asked in confusion. Opera shook her head in exasperation as she took Dee’s hand in hers.

“It’s a BALL! You need to wear a ballgown! Honestly, where would you be without me? Ash, stay there, we’ll be right back.” Opera dragged her bemused friend into a nearby reception room, leaving Ash equally stunned in the hallway.

A few minutes later and the door opened once again, Opera pushed Dee across the threshold and all Ash could do was stare. Dee was wearing a strapless dress with a tight light purple corset, it was covered with rhinestones that sparkled under the lights, the skirt was black, reaching to the floor and it billowed slightly as she moved.

“What do you think? Opera said she made this with me in mind.” Dee asked him; Opera had used her magic to do her friend’s hair and makeup. Her wavy hair was in an elegant ‘up do’ and she was wearing smoky black eyeshadow to draw out her eyes and blood red lipstick. Ash got over his surprise and grinned widely, he got down on one knee in front of Dee and took her hand, kissing the back of it.

“People might have a hard time believing that you’re not a princess in a dress like that.” He told Dee as he looked up at her with a genuinely happy smile. Dee smiled back at him.

“Flatterer. Though I do seem to have my own Fairy Godmother now.” She said as she shot a grin at Opera. “Come on, let’s get to the hall, we’re already late.” Ash got to his feet and offered Dee his arm and she took it. The pair were announced to the room by a butler at the door and Dee bit her lip to keep from laughing as Bill nearly spat his mouthful of wine out when he saw her. 

The first thing the pair did once they’d descended the staircase into the room was to find Sakuto. They found him talking with a minister and the Duke. Dee curtseyed and Ash bowed, much to Sakuto’s amusement as he returned the bow.

“Congratulations, Sakuto, I’m so pleased for you. Bet you’re glad to be out of those heavy robes though.” Dee told him while a waiter with a tray of drinks stopped by them and offered them a glass. Ash took two and handed one to Dee.

“Yes, I’m very glad I only have to wear that full regalia on very rare occasions, it’s completely impractical. You look absolutely stunning, by the way, no one will be able to tear their eyes from you if you dance later on.” Sakuto took a sip of the glass of wine he was carrying as he paid Dee a sincere compliment.

“Are you sure they won’t be staring because of my utter lack of grace?” Dee chuckled though she did look to Ash in hope. “I do know how to ballroom dance though, do you, Ash?” He grimaced a touch.

“It’s not really my thing, sorry.” Ash admitted, much preferring the more rural dances of his clan. Dee looked visibly disappointed, prompting Sakuto to take her wine glass and put it on the table with his own.

“Well, that just won’t do, this is a ball, after all. My lady, may I have this dance?” Sakuto bowed and offered out his hand. Dee grinned with a nod, taking his hand and Sakuto led them out to the middle of the dancefloor and they took their positions. The live musicians began a waltz and the pair moved in perfect sync. “You’ve definitely done this before, why have you never mentioned it?” Sakuto asked as they waltzed.

“Eh, admitting that I’ve had ballroom dancing lessons just seemed like such a rich girl thing, I didn’t want to sound stuck up.” Dee admitted with a slightly embarrassed smile. Even though it had been a very long time since she’d last danced the waltz, all the steps came back instinctively, like muscle memory. The dress Opera had made fanned out beautifully when Sakuto span her, getting sporadic appreciative applause when they executed a perfectly timed lift.

“You should worry less about what strangers think about you. Anyone who decided you were ‘stuck up’ just because of your background wouldn’t be worth knowing anyway.” Sakuto told her with a slight shake of his head, the pair able to hold a full conversation without missing a step.

“Full of good advice as always, I wish I’d written it all down from the very beginning so I could remind myself of it when I need to.” Dee gave him a grateful smile, a number of other couples had joined them on the dancefloor but there was no danger of collisions as they all followed the steps of the waltz.

“Funny you should say that, I’ve recently begun keeping a record of all the things my father taught me so I can pass it on to future generations.” Sakuto told her as he turned Dee in time to the music. “I’ve also begun keeping a journal with Tsukito’s Memory Quill. Losing one, very nearly two, people from my life really drove it home that one day, these memories might be all I’ll have left, so I want to make sure I record them.” Dee gave his upper arm a subtle squeeze where her left hand was resting on it.

“I think that’s a lovely idea, Sakuto.” Dee replied with an understanding smile, she hadn’t been able to keep much to remember her parents by when they died and she bitterly wished she’d taken more pictures with them. They danced for a little while longer until Mad tapped Sakuto on the shoulder.

“May I cut in, good sir?” Mad tipped his more traditional black top hat and he winked at them. Sakuto chuckled with a nod, kissing the back of Dee’s hand before giving it to Mad and withdrawing from the dancefloor.

It seemed Mad wasn’t the only one who wanted a dance with Dee, seeing as Noir cut in after Mad had waltzed for a while and even Bill had taken a turn after that. Joker was just getting some food from the buffet when he spotted Ash at the edge of the room, looking displeased and approached him.

“Let me guess, feeling a little jealous?” Joker asked in amusement as he offered his plate to Ash who shook his head.

“Not jealous as much as forgotten. Surely _everyone_ doesn’t need to have a dance with my girlfriend?” Ash muttered, sounding a little bad tempered. Bill wasn’t as good at ballroom dancing as the others and kept stepping on Dee’s toes, much to her amusement.

“Relax, you’re the one she’s going home with, you can forgive the rest of us a dance.” Joker took a glass of spirits on the rocks that was offered by a passing waitress. Ash gave him a sidelong look, raising an amused eyebrow.

“Us? You gonna cut in next after Bill then?” Ash teased him, knowing Joker didn’t normally go anywhere near dancefloors if he could avoid it.

“Not in front of all these people, besides Dee’s feet have been stomped on enough already, poor woman.” Joker snickered in answer before he put a hand on the back of Ash’s shoulder and gave him a push. “Now go on, rescue your girl and dance with her before I kick your ass.” Ash gave a sigh of resignation but he really didn’t need that much encouragement as he headed for the dancefloor.


	7. Chapter Seven

Opera and Dee were in the Other World, they were having a late lunch together before Dee was meeting up with Ash to go on a date night. Seeing as they both were part of a close knit group of friends, sometimes it was hard to spend time together just the two of them so they made an effort to do something solo at least once every week to ten days or so.

“Oh, I almost forgot! I’ve been doing some digging around and look what I found!” Dee pulled her phone out and brought up a website she’d bookmarked, showing it to Opera. “Picture isn’t great but it’s a scan of a missing person’s report in a newspaper dated around 1865.”

“1865? That’s what? 154 years back? Let’s have a look then.” Opera took the phone and zoomed in. “Missing: Alice Clara Barton. Aged seven. Blue eyes and long blonde hair. Disappeared in the night from her house on October the 8th. Family very concerned. Reward for any viable information.” Opera read out loud.

“What do you think? It’s about the right time and the first name and description matches exactly.” Dee asked as Opera handed back her phone with a nod.

“I’d say it has to be. I’ll let Bill know and he can carve Alice’s full name on to the plaque.” Opera’s eyes followed a woman that walked past their table as she spoke. Dee spotted that and sighed, lowering her voice a touch.

“Opera, I know and you know that you’re only looking at womens’ ‘Hearts’ but to an outsider, you just look like you’re staring at their chests.” Opera blinked her big green eyes at her friend in confusion, not understanding what she was getting at.

“But that’s where the ‘Hearts’ are. How else am I meant to look at them?” Opera had all the natural curiosity you would expect from someone who dedicated their life to research and knowledge.

“Just try and be a little more subtle about it! You gawk so much it looks like you’re ogling their breasts!” Unfortunately for Dee there was a natural lull in the background noise at just that exact moment so the last word of her sentence sounded exceptionally loud. “…Great! Now I’m the one who looks like a pervert!” 

Dee quickly got up to head for the ladies’ room in an attempt to hide from her embarrassment. When Dee returned a few minutes later, having recovered from the worst of her mortification, she found a slice of cake waiting for her in apology from Opera.

“I’m sorry, I’ll try and be more aware from now on.” Opera said before she changed the subject. “Noir tell you that I’m planning on trying to find the ruins of Lumina so we can work out what happened with the Bandersnatch?” Dee had been reaching for her fork so she could eat the cake but stopped short.

“On your own? You can’t be serious! It doesn’t matter how powerful your spells are if you don’t have a chance to cast one before it’s already on you!” Dee’s alarm and worry were more than apparent. Opera took her hand and squeezed it with a grateful smile.

“I’ve got an invisibility cloak, assuming it doesn’t have any extra sensory perception, it shouldn’t know I’m there. This is just a scouting mission, I’ll be fine.” Opera’s voice and words did their best to soothe Dee’s concerns.

“Take someone with you when you go, they can sit outside the swamp and if you’re not back by whatever time, then they can raise the alarm. Sound good?” Dee offered, getting a nod from Opera before she smiled, glad they had a deal they were both happy with. 

The pair sat and chatted for a while longer before Dee had to head off to meet Ash, they were going to an ice rink, it was the last night it was going to be open for before it closed till next season. As Dee got her things together, she realised something.

“Oh no! Where’s my handbag?! It’s got my purse and keys in it!” Dee exclaimed as she looked under the table before looking around to see if she could see it.

“Did you leave it in the toilet when you went? I’ll go check.” Opera darted over to the ladies’ room while Dee stayed by their table, trying to remember where she last saw her bag. “Got it! I was right!” Opera declared as she held up the handbag as she came back out.

“Thanks, Opera, though I really didn’t think I’d taken it in there with me. Oh well, I’ve got to run now or I’ll be late! See you soon! Take care!” The two women parted ways with a warm hug, crisis averted.

A little later and Ash and Dee were skating around an indoor ice rink… well, that was what they were attempting to do, but both of them were shockingly bad at it. Dee had just fallen on to her backside for the millionth time with a thud.

“Oww! Whose bright idea was this anyway?” She asked as she half laughed, half grimaced. Ash managed to skate/glide over towards Dee and offered her his hand.

“That would be your bright idea, Hun.” Ash told her as Dee took his outstretched hand and he attempted to pull her up. However, he overbalanced and slipped backwards, taking Dee’s legs out from under her and she landed on top of him heavily with an ‘oof’.

“Now this is more like it! I like the view from up here!” Dee grinned down at Ash, stealing a quick peck from his lips before she rolled off of him and struggled to her feet. “If I remember rightly from the one time I went skating as a kid, you have to make sure you keep your centre of gravity over your boots.” With that in mind, she managed to skate hesitantly for a few feet without toppling over.

“Now I know why you wouldn’t let anyone near that frozen lake. If I fell over on that then there’s no way I wouldn’t go through the ice.” Ash did his best to copy Dee’s movements and soon the pair were actually skating, slowly and hardly fluid, but it was definitely skating.

“Yep, the worst that could happen here is a broken ankle, which isn’t going to kill you. Unlike hypothermia.” Dee held out her hand for Ash and he took it, the pair managing to keep up a certain kind of rhythm. “Shame I didn’t think to come here before it shut for the year, I reckon we might actually get to grips with skating if we got more practice.”

“There’s always next season, I wouldn’t mind coming back again. It’s quite fun now we’ve stopped falling over like clowns, hilarious as that was.” Ash now understood why there was a one-way system, it wasn’t worth risking the collisions. Though it was a bit galling that pretty much everyone else was lapping them and pulling off fancy turns while it was taking him so much effort just to stay upright.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to set the date for next year then! Think we can handle going a bit faster?” Dee questioned Ash and he nodded, the two speeding up ever so slightly without any mishaps. “Next stop, speed skating at the Olympics!” Ash laughed at her dramatic shout as the two of them spent a very enjoyable date at the ice rink.

At the end of their skate session, Dee was waiting out the front of the rink for Ash to finish up in the boy’s locker room. She was rubbing her arms to warm herself up when she suddenly felt uneasy, like there were eyes on her somewhere. Dee looked around but she couldn’t see anyone watching her but she just couldn’t shake the feeling off. Finally, Ash appeared and she pushed the feeling aside and the pair of them headed back to her apartment building.

Later that night, Dee had cooked a big dinner for the pair of them and now she was getting changed for bed while Ash sorted out the dishes. As she did so, she happened to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

“Wait, what?” Dee did a double take and looked down, on the outside of her left thigh there was a massive black bruise, obviously from when she’d fallen over while skating. Dee began looking for others and found a good handful and she couldn’t help laughing. “Ash! Come up here, you gotta see this! I look like I’ve been battered!” She heard footsteps on the stairs and he blinked in surprise at her bruises before he laughed.

“I didn’t realise you’d fallen quite that hard, I wonder if I’ve got any?” Ash undid his jeans and slid them down slightly. Dee approached him and walked around him, checking him for marks.

“I see one, two… two and a half, maybe? Not sure if that one is a scrape more than a bruise.” Dee said as she prodded the area, getting a grunt of pain out of Ash. “Oh sorry, didn’t mean to hurt you. Looks like I beat you in bruises, but I think that was to be expected, you’re built like a rock.” Dee ran an admiring hand up Ash’s side and squeezed his upper arm, feeling the muscle there.

“Yours do look pretty bad, sure they don’t hurt?” Ash asked with a note of concern in his voice but Dee just shook her head at him and he smiled. It was then that Ash seemed to notice that Dee was only part way through getting changed, sliding his arms around her to pull her against him. “You’re gonna get cold like that…” Ash said as he placed one hand on the small of her back, the other travelling up her spine.

“Hmmm? Well you’re just going to have to do something to keep me warm then, aren’t you?” Dee replied suggestively as she loosely draped her arms around his neck. Her heart rate speeding up in anticipation as Ash took her invitation, leaning in to give her a deep kiss.


	8. Chapter Eight

Mad and Opera were at the north western edge of the Eventide Swamp, they were checking over the equipment Opera was to take with her on her scouting mission.

“Magic compass is working; it’s got the rough location of Lumina enchanted into it. You’ve got Noir’s camera to take pictures of anything interesting. A silence spell so no one should hear your footsteps, your breathing or when you’re taking photos and you’ve got your cloak.” Mad knew his sister was more than capable of pulling this off but he couldn’t help worrying. “Don’t take the scenic route, if you’re not back in two hours, I’m coming after you.”

“You worry too much, you sound just like Dee, it’ll be fine!” Opera told her little brother as she draped her invisibility cloak around her shoulders, looking disturbingly like a floating head. “Alright, silence me, I know you’ve been dying to do this.” Mad huffed in amusement as he recited a short spell and waved his cane.

“Great, I can’t hear you.” Mad said as he saw Opera’s lips moving without sound. “Good luck, sis, be careful and see you soon.” Opera nodded and fully enveloped herself in her cloak and disappeared from sight. All Mad could do now was wait patiently.

Opera followed the direction her magical compass pointed, occasionally she couldn’t take the straight-line path as her way was blocked by deep peat bogs or dense undergrowth. But her trusty compass always brought her back on track. Opera kept an eye out for the Bandersnatch, aware that if he could sense her presence then she would be in a lot of danger, but the swamp around her stayed eerily still.

Opera had been trekking for a while when she came across a strange stone outcrop from the marsh. A massive jagged and angular structure covered with years of moss and lichen. Opera got to the foot of the strange monolith and checked her compass.

“Well, I’m here. So, I guess this is what I’m looking for?” Opera got out the camera and took a couple of shots, tucking the photos away for now. She picked her way around the base until she came to what looked like a large crack in the rock. She took another snapshot before she examined it more closely. “This damage definitely makes me think someone or something broke out from within… hmm, hang on, this doesn’t look like stone from the inside.”

Opera ran her fingers over the layers revealed in the crack, she hissed as the material sliced her fingertip open before understanding dawned on her face. She clutched her staff and whispered an incantation before tapping the ground. The centuries of filth and vegetation disappeared and Opera recoiled in horror.

The structure was a giant mound of solidified glass, and perfectly preserved inside, were the People of Light who had gone into that final battle. Opera’s hands shook as she lifted the camera again to take the pictures. They had used the power of the Sun to melt down the remains of their beautiful city and turned it into a giant glass coffin for the Bandersnatch… and themselves.

Their plan was flawless, except for the one thing they hadn’t anticipated. The Bandersnatch’s now painfully obvious immortality. When Opera examined the exit point more closely, she could see that it led directly into the centre of the glass monolith. The Bandersnatch had spent centuries chipping away at its prison, centimetre by centimetre, until its patience finally paid off and it broke free.

Opera was just putting away the final picture she’d taken when she felt the unmistakable presence of malevolence. She turned around carefully as the Bandersnatch swept towards the glass structure, it hissed and snarled, its forked tongue tasting the air.

“Ssssomeone has been here.” Its voice sounded like rocks grinding together as it stalked around the mound. However, seeing the eternal captors inside seemed to send it into a feral rage and it roared before starting to claw and strike at the glass for a few moments before it calmed itself.

“No, we must sssave our strength. The dead cannot feel our fury, we must take our revenge on the living. All must ssssuffer, suffer as we did for eons.” The Bandersnatch’s cold words made Opera shiver; the promise of retribution must have been its only desire for centuries. Wonderland had to eliminate this creature before it regained its former power, for by then, it would most likely be too late.

Opera waited until the Bandersnatch dashed away again at speed before she ran back the way she came. As soon as she left the swamp, she threw her cloak over her arm and ran towards her brother. She was out of breath as she tried to tell him everything but Mad placed both his hands on her shoulders.

“Opera! Calm yourself! I can’t hear you, remember? Now stay still.” Mad waved his cane to remove the silence charm to give his sister back her voice but he stopped her before she could speak. “If what you’re going to say is as important as it seems, we’re best calling everyone together. We aren’t far from the border of Gentiana, I’ll send a message to meet us at Dark Castle.” He waved his cane again, several motes of light appeared and spread out in different directions.

Within the hour, everyone had gathered in the banquet hall of Dark Castle where Opera told them all what she had discovered, showing them the pictures she had taken. Finally, she told them what the Bandersnatch had said, how it was filled with nothing but hatred and a burning desire for revenge.

“It is truly much worse than we could have imagined.” Ruber spoke first with a shake of her head. “If this thing can survive without food and water for that long, is anything we currently have going to be able to kill it?” Noir was looking through the photos with a grim face. A storm had gathered outside and rain was pelting down in a torrent, rattling the glass in the window frames.

“I think we’re best coming up with ideas on how to seal it, and assume we won’t be able to kill it. That way we won’t be stuck without a plan if we try to attack it and find we can’t lay a scratch on it.” Noir stated his opinion as he put the pictures down, snapping his fingers to summon a thick book of magic spells.

“Well us non-mages will still probably be of use because the shadows are definitely not immortal. Me and Dee can vouch for that. We can keep them off your back while you guys do what you need to do with the Bandersnatch.” Joker interjected with his thoughts, looking over to Ash, Bill, Dee, Sakuto and Cardia who nodded their agreement.

“Before we do anything, we need a way to counteract the Bandersnatch’s speed. Either slowing it down or speeding us up.” Mad had summoned a tea set and was pouring himself a cup. “There’s a powerful speed charm recipe that should do the trick. We’re going to need a phoenix feather though and they are notoriously hard to get a hold of.” Opera grimaced at hearing that but she shook her head anyway.

“We have to try; we need any edge we can get if we’re going to even stand a chance.” She pushed her hair out of her face and was about to speak again when the door burst open and Siam rushed inside.

“My King! It’s a disaster! The banks of the Midnight River are about to burst!” The Cat Knight shouted out in alarm; Noir jumped up from his seat.

“The entirety of Midnight Town will be completely flooded if that happens! Right! The magicians and I will do what we can to hold the bank, Sakuto, will you evacuate the townspeople into the castle? We’re on higher ground so they’ll be safe here.” Sakuto nodded and Noir ran for the doors with Ruber, Opera and Mad right behind him.

“We need to move too; everyone get into groups of two and don’t leave your partner for anything.” Sakuto declared to the rest of them. The six of them headed out of the castle, the weather was truly horrific, Dee was soaked through in seconds. Visibility was poor, everyone was having to shout to be heard over the din of the rain and wind. They managed to make themselves understood enough to split the streets between them.

Ash and Dee were rushing down a row of houses, banging on the doors, telling the people inside to head for the castle. The water level was already up to their ankles, they could only hope the magicians would be able to hold back the water long enough for them to get everyone evacuated. Thankfully they seemed to complete their sweep just before the weather worsened even more.

Dee’s teeth were chattering as she joined the crowds in the entrance hall of Dark Castle, her clothes were sodden and dripping. She wanted to wring them out but that would just make even more puddles on the floor. All of a sudden, a young woman carrying a small child came running over to her in a panic.

“I don’t see my next door neighbour anywhere! He’s elderly and a bit deaf, he might not have heard you banging on the door!” Bill happened to be passing them and overheard what the lady was saying.

“You were in my row, I remember which house was yours, come on, Dee, let’s go and get him.” Bill took Dee by the hand and the two ran back out of the castle. When they reached the house, Dee looked in the window and saw someone sitting in an armchair next to a fire but he didn’t react as she pounded on the window to try and get his attention.

“He can’t hear us! Bill! See if you can pick the lock!” Dee shouted at him who immediately got to work. The lock was a simple enough one and he’d unlocked it in moments. However, the wooden door had swollen in the damp and was stuck in the jamb. Bill cursed and used his shoulder to try and bash the door free. But by now the water was almost up to knee level and rising fast.

Not seeing any other options, Dee lent down and felt for something she could use to break the window. Her hand touched something that felt like a discarded brick and she pulled it out of the water. Dee smashed the glass, using the brick to smooth away some of the shards before she climbed in through the hole she’d made. The old man spotted her and stood up from his chair in shock and alarm.

“The river is about to burst! We need to get you to the castle right now!” Dee told him as she went to the front door, pulling it as Bill pushed from the other side. Dee was thrown backwards when it finally sprung open, a cascade of water flowing into the room. Bill rushed in and headed straight for the man.

“My apologies, sir, but it’s going to be quicker to carry you!” Bill hoisted him over his shoulder. “Come on, Dee, time to move!” They half ran, half waded their way through the rising waters until they got to the castle and higher ground. Someone sent a message to Noir once it was confirmed that all the townspeople had been evacuated, Noir then used a teleportation spell to bring the four magicians back inside. 

A little later and Dee was in dry clothes, currently huddled over a lit brazier, one of many that had been brought to the hall to warm people up. After holding back the flood waters for so long, the mages didn’t have enough power to dry everyone using magic so everyone was offered towels and fresh clothes instead. The kitchen staff had made a massive cauldron of soup before ladling it out in bowls, it served a dual purpose of feeding the people and warming them from the inside.

At the moment, Dee didn’t think she’d ever feel warm again. She had a couple of cuts from the broken window and her back hurt from when she fell when the door sprung open. She looked up as Mad approached her and sat down next to her, pulling a small jar out of his pocket.

“Let me see those cuts on your arms.” He asked and Dee obediently held out her left arm first, Mad rubbing some cream in to it before doing the same to the other. “There. That should sort them out.”

“Thanks, you’re the best.” Dee told him with a smile, watching as Siam, Maryanne and some Black Knights began bringing every mattress in the castle to the entrance hall so the townspeople would have something to lie on and get some sleep. “I really hope the damage from the flooding won’t be too bad. Noir’s been working so hard to improve the town; it’ll be horrendous if it’s all destroyed.” Mad nodded in agreement as he put his jar away.

“Yes, but we’ll have to see where we are in the morning.” Mad stood up again once more. “I’m going to see if I have any more injuries to treat. Why don’t you lie down somewhere and get some rest? You look absolutely exhausted.” Dee made an affirmative noise, thankfully there was an unclaimed mattress nearby. She curled up on it and was asleep in moments.


	9. Chapter Nine

“Knock, Knock!” Joker called out as he opened the front door to Dee’s apartment, followed by Ash, Bill, Mad and Cardia. Dee was in the kitchen and shook her head at him with a laugh.

“You’re supposed to knock before you walk in, Joker, not shout it as you come through the door!” Dee commented as the guys piled in.

“You’re the one who invited us over to see your newest cake design, so it’s not as if you weren’t expecting us.” Mad looked around the kitchen. “So where is it?”

“Right here!” Dee gestured in front of her with the widest grin on her face but all she was met with was looks of puzzlement.

“What? Where? All I can see is a mixing bowl and some baking tools!” Cardia asked in confusion as they all came closer to have a look. But nothing seemed unusual about the pastel coloured bowl, nor the wooden spoon, rolling pin and wire whisk sitting inside it. 

Then Dee slowly and deliberately picked up the wooden spoon, lifting it to her mouth and biting the top off to everyone’s complete shock.

“It’s all cake?!” Ash asked in disbelief as he reached out and tentatively touched the edge of the bowl, breaking a small piece off. Bill whipped out his phone to start filming as Joker picked up the rolling pin and took a hesitant bite out of it, holding it like a corn on the cob.

“I know I’m pretty much always impressed when I see your cake designs, but this is off the scale! How did you do this? Be honest, did you use magic?” Mad’s voice was full of disbelief. Dee laughed at that and shook her head.

“Nope, I was looking at the prototype tins that Bill made for me when I thought I could use half the sphere to make a cake bowl and things kind of spiralled from there.” Dee informed them as she pulled the tins out of a cupboard to show them which she used for which part.

“But this! This looks exactly like a whisk! How do you bake a cake wire thin like that?” Cardia had the cake whisk in his hand, utterly dumbfounded.

“Don’t wave it around like that! While it may look like a whisk it has exactly zero tensile strength. As to how I made the wires, I put some cake batter in a piping bag and used it to trace an actual whisk to get the shape. Prop it up right in the oven for like sixty seconds, pray to the gods and sacrifice your first born to a demon and it might come out right one time in twenty.” Dee explained, her face and tone showing just how difficult it was to make it.

“But how have you painted these? The spoon looks wooden and the rolling pin looks like marble.” Joker asked as he tapped the rolling pin on the counter and it predictably broke.

“Now that I had to get creative with. I tried edible baking paints but they didn’t look very realistic so I did some experiments and managed to make a mixture with food colouring, thin icing and gelatine that seemed to dry to a realistic looking texture and colour.” Dee pulled out a small bowl that had a little leftover pastel green paint in it. “Doesn’t taste of much except sugar but it does the job.” Ash came and put an arm around Dee’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

“Well I’d say this is ‘Something that’s never been done before’. I’d put money on another first place prize, you had us completely fooled.” Ash told her honestly and Dee beamed at him. Bill had finished filming and sat down on a stool, picking up the hemisphere.

“If I make some smaller ones of this, you might be able to make some measuring cups out of cake too! I’m so glad that my work was able to give you the inspiration you needed. You’re welcome and just leave the money by the door!” Bill quipped and an instant hush enveloped the room. He looked confused at the reaction for a moment before his eyes widened in realisation. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry, Dee, I didn’t mean that like it ended up sounding, believe me!” Bill flapped his hands about in a panic as he tried to explain himself while Dee glowered at him.

“You better not have, try and think before you speak.” Dee told him before she suddenly sneezed, covering her nose and mouth with a tissue from her pocket just in time.

“You alright there? Sounds like you might have caught a cold, though it’s pretty understandable after the storm the other day.” Mad commented as Dee blew her nose and discarded the tissue, washing her hands with a shake of her head.

“No, I have too much on at the moment to have a cold. I refuse.” She answered stubbornly, sounding like she was full of phlegm, beginning to look through her cupboards for some cold medicine.

“I’m not sure colds care enough to get a person’s permission, though if anyone could out-stubborn one, it would be you.” Cardia teased her with a laugh, Dee made a noise of acknowledgement as she opened more cabinets to try and find what she was looking for.

“Hey, have one of you guys rearranged my cupboards by chance?” Dee asked as she finally found the cold and flu tablets she was after, taking two with a swig of water.

“No… why would someone do that? What would be the point?” Joker replied, raising a confused eyebrow as he glanced at the other guys and it looked like none of them were behind it either.

“I don’t know! To annoy me, I guess? Urgh, I swear I have a poltergeist.” Dee grunted in frustration before she checked the time on her phone and smiled. “I actually had a secondary motive in inviting you all over tonight.” She walked over to her plate glass wall, sliding the screens open so they could see out over the city.

The guys moved over to the window, unsure as to what they were waiting for, when before long something streaked upwards into the night sky before exploding into light against the darkness followed by several more.

“Oh wow! A fireworks display! What’s the occasion?” Bill asked in excitement as he pressed himself right up against the glass, eyes as wide as a child.

“Chinese New Year, it’s a lunisolar calendar and the lunar new year usually starts a month or so after the Gregorian one.” Dee told them as the sky was filled with repeated colourful bursts. “Good thing about living so high up is that we can watch the show without having to get cold. Ooh, I have an idea.” Dee quickly went and turned off the lights in the living room, leaving the under cabinet ones in the kitchen on as a background glow. The semi-darkness instantly made the fireworks outside look even brighter.

When she came back over, Ash stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around to hold her and rested his chin on her head as they enjoyed the show. Mad had joined Bill in pressing his face right up against the glass, though to be fair, both Joker and Cardia looked fascinated as well. Dee smiled to herself, she knew they’d love watching the fireworks.

The show started to build to its finish with lots of big, loud and bright explosions. As Dee was watched, she thought she saw a reflection in the window glass and moved her eyes towards it and frowned.

“Hmm? What’s up?” Ash asked, noticing the change in her posture. Dee looked back over his shoulder, but there was nothing there.

“Thought I saw a reflection in the window, it looked like the silhouette of a person… but my eyes must be playing tricks on me.” Dee said. Mad turned around and flicked the lights on with his magic before approaching the pair of them and placing the back of his hand on Dee’s forehead.

“You feel a little warm, and you’re probably tired from working on the cake all day. You should get some rest.” Mad told his friend and she frowned at him.

“Yeah, the painting alone would have taken hours.” It wasn’t very often that Cardia agreed with Mad but this was one of those rare occasions.

“I’m fine, I’m just a little sniffly is all. It’s still too early to think about bed.” Dee shook her head stubbornly and Bill sighed dramatically.

“Sorry, Dee, you’re officially overruled. You’re terrible at taking care of yourself so we’ve got to do it for you. Ash? Make sure she takes it easy; we’re counting on you.” Bill said in a stern voice, sharing a nod with Ash. Joker had to laugh at the disgruntled pout Dee was sporting.

“Don’t look so put out, I’m sure there’s worse fates you could suffer than being doted on by your other half. Thanks for inviting us over, the cake was great and the fireworks ruled!” Joker messed up Dee’s hair roughly to annoy her on purpose so she’d stop pouting.

“Ahhh! Get off!” She complained before she started coughing, covering her mouth with her hand. When the fit stopped, she glared at everyone. “No one say a goddamn word.” Bill laughed and shook his head as he headed for the door with the others, except Ash, who was staying the night.

“Well, you heard them. Go upstairs and get changed, I’ll close the screens and see about heating us up some soup.” Ash pointed towards the bedroom and Dee sighed.

“Alright, fine, try not to burn my flat down.” She grumbled as she went up to the second level, digging out a pair of thick fleecy pyjamas and changing into them. She grabbed a warm shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders, coming down the stairs again just as Ash was pouring the soup in to two large mugs. The pair moved over to the couch with their dinner and Ash sat down and pulled Dee into his side before spreading a throw over both their legs as she flicked on the tv.

“You shouldn’t get so close to me or you might end up sick too.” Dee warned as she blew on the thick soup before taking a sip, even then she lent further into him as she spoke. Ash chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“I thought we were doing the ‘if I don’t acknowledge it, it doesn’t exist’ technique? Besides, didn’t you know the quickest way to get rid of a cold is to give it to someone else?” Ash asked as he nuzzled the side of her face affectionately. Dee gave a small amused huff.

“That just sounds like an excuse to me…” She answered, falling quiet for a moment before she moved her head slightly so she could look Ash in the eyes. “Well? Are you going to kiss me or not?” Ash grinned at her, only too happy to oblige.


	10. Chapter Ten

The next day, Mad, Noir, Sakuto and Opera were walking up a mountain in search of the rare ingredient they needed for the speed charms: a phoenix feather. Dee had tagged along because she desperately wanted to see the mythological bird with her own eyes.

“So why is getting phoenix feathers so hard?” She asked the others, checking her footing so she didn’t trip on any rocks. Thankfully her cold seemed to have been relatively short lived as she’d woken up feeling miles better.

“Because there’s only one phoenix left in Wonderland, there were more but they were hunted to near extinction for their feathers, talons and flesh which all have powerful magic properties.” Noir spoke in a bitter voice. “They’d capture the poor creatures and then drown them. If a phoenix can’t ignite when it dies, then it can’t reincarnate, leaving the hunters with a body they could carve up and sell off for parts.” Dee gasped and covered her mouth with her hand in horror.

“How awful! This poor bird is the last of its kind, no wonder it has its nest on the top of a mountain far away from everyone like this.” Dee said as she looked up towards the sky, they still had a long way to go.

“Belatedly, the citizens realised their mistake and now all the countries have laws forbidding the hunting or harming of any magical beasts without prior permission, not just the phoenix.” Sakuto’s mouth was in a grim line, personally saddened by the way poachers had used to be allowed to run rampant. “We’ve managed to reverse the decline in unicorns in recent years but there’s still more that needs to be done.”

“Nowadays anyone who needs a phoenix feather or talon has had to trek up to the top of Garuda Point and hope to find one discarded around the nest.” Mad was using his cane like a walking pole as the trail got a little steeper. “Unsurprisingly, the phoenix doesn’t look kindly on anyone who asks her directly for these things, considering what she’s been through.”

“At least she’s not openly hostile to anyone who approaches her with the required respect, I wouldn’t have blamed her if she attacked every person she saw after hunters killed the rest of her kind.” Opera paused briefly to take a small swig from the canteen she’d brought with her before offering it to Dee, who accepted it.

“Revenge obviously has no value to her, so it seems.” Dee muttered as she took a drink, handing the bottle to Sakuto before stretching out her back with a click. “Can’t you just teleport us to the top?” She asked Noir.

“In theory, yes, but it’s dangerous to try and teleport to a place you’re not familiar with. If there is an unexpectedly narrow pathway up there, I could end up sending us into mid-air with nothing underneath us.” Noir replied as he ran a hand through his hair. “Once we get there, then I could teleport us back down if we really can’t face the trip but we’ll see how we go.” Dee nodded with a sigh and the five of them set off again.

An hour or so later and they had finally reached the top of the mountain, it levelled out slightly into a small plateau leading to a large cave. It was too deep for them to see very far into the darkness within.

“Well I don’t see any feathers around here, though they’d probably blow away being exposed to the wind, to be fair. Looks like we’ll need to go into the cave.” Mad commented before walking towards the open mouth. However, suddenly, he stopped short with a thump like he’d hit an invisible wall. “Oww! What? What’s with the magic barrier?” Mad grumbled as he thumped the side of his fist against it in annoyance.

“Looks like the phoenix got tired of people coming up here and poking around her nest, or something like that, I assume.” Noir examined the barrier carefully. “This presents a problem, if we break the spell, that’s likely to annoy the phoenix which we don’t want to do because we need her to allow us to grab a feather.”

“Hmmm, there’s something written on this rock but I don’t recognise the characters. Opera, take a look at this.” Sakuto was standing by the edge of the cave mouth, rubbing the rock face to remove moss and grit to make the words more legible. Opera walked over and studied the language, her lips moving in silence as she translated it.

“It says: _‘Becoming dust holds no fear for the phoenix born from the ash. Only those who thrice have stared at death with a strong heart and then returned may step forth.’_ Looks like it’s a conditional entrance spell.” Opera read the markings out loud and everyone fell quiet for a moment to contemplate the meaning of the words before footsteps broke the silence.

“Dee?” Mad asked in confusion that quickly turned to complete shock as she walked past him without impediment. He instinctively tried to follow her but the barrier stopped him once again. Bereft of an explanation, Mad looked at the other three for answers but it seemed all they could do now was wait for Dee to come back.

The interior of the cave was dark and intimidating so Dee walked slowly, allowing her eyes to adjust to the gloom, looking around for any signs of a phoenix feather. After a few minutes, she saw some natural light at the end of the tunnel. As she got closer, the cave widened into a much larger cavern, the sunlight was coming from an opening high in the wall and underneath it was a large nest.

Dee smiled to herself as she approached carefully, intending to look inside it to hopefully find a discarded feather. Suddenly, there was a fluttering of wings above her and she jumped backwards on instinct. A flame red and orange bird landed in front of her, it was of great size, much bigger than a lion but smaller than an elephant, though that was with her wings withdrawn, her wingspan would no doubt more than triple her width. In the ancient beast’s majestic presence, Dee found herself going down on one knee and bowing her head in respect.

“Child of the Other World, in recognition of the strength of your spirit, raise your head and stand before me.” The voice had a regal dignity and an underlying warmth, like the embers in an open fire. Dee lifted her head and got back to her feet, even a non-mage like her could sense the magic in the air around them as the phoenix studied her with deep golden eyes for a moment. “Why have you come here?”

“I came seeking one of your feathers, Madam Phoenix, there is a creature in the Eventide Swamp that intends to destroy everyone in Wonderland in search of retribution. My friends and I aim to stop it, we need to create a speed charm to level the playing field and give us a chance to defeat it.” Dee spoke with reverence; she knew this being had lived far longer than she ever would and deserved nothing but her utmost respect.

“You saved this world once, even though no one asked you to. You’re striving to do the same again. Why do this for a place that is not your home?” The phoenix questioned Dee, the sunlight glinting off of her noble beak.

“Why?” Dee repeated, her face screwing up in genuine puzzlement from the question. “Because it’s the right thing to do, that’s why.” Brown eyes met golden ones in a contest of sincerity for a minute before the phoenix broke the silence.

“For most, those words are nothing but hollow ideals that crumble at the first sign of adversity. But not for you, it seems. I’d lost faith in your kind as a rabble of selfish creatures, servants to nothing but their own desires. The fact someone like you exists gives me hope that there might yet be others.” The phoenix spread out one of her mighty wings and plucked out one of her feathers with her beak before lowering her head and dropping it in Dee’s hands.

“Thank you, Madam Phoenix! We’ll stop the Bandersnatch and protect Wonderland! I promise you!” Dee exclaimed as she held the feather by the quill, it radiated a slight warmth and the colours shifted through red, orange and yellow in the light. There was a brightness in the phoenix’s eyes that made Dee think she would be smiling if she could.

“I trust that you will. I have a final gift for you.” The majestic bird bent her head towards her feet, breaking one of her great claws off, dropping it into Dee’s palm. “Don’t give this to anyone else, it belongs to you only. It will protect you in thanks for restoring my belief in your kind.” Dee’s eyes were shining with emotion but she nodded, stowing the talon away safely in her pocket.

“You honour me, Madam Phoenix, I’ll treasure it.” Dee bowed to the mighty beast who nodded back at her before stretching out her powerful wings and beating them to lift off from the cavern floor and flying through the opening. Dee stared at the feather in her hand and grinned, turning to sprint back down the tunnel to rejoin her friends.

“I spoke to the phoenix and she gave me a feather! Look!” Dee exclaimed once she got back to the plateau, grinning from ear to ear and practically bouncing with excitement from the encounter she’d just had. Noir took the feather from her but kept his eyes on Dee.

“The distortion issue and when my father bled you…” He was counting the incidents with his hand. “What was the third near death experience?” Dee deflated a little bit at the question.

“I was in the car crash that killed my parents.” Dee replied, looking down at the ground sadly. Understanding came to Noir’s face and he gave her a silent hug in apology for making her recall such a terrible memory.

“So, you actually spoke to the phoenix and convinced her to give you a feather?” Opera changed the subject when Noir let her go and the bright smile came back to Dee’s face and she nodded emphatically. “You have to tell me everything! Come on! It’ll kill the time as we walk.” Opera linked arms with Dee and the five of them set off on the long trek back down the mountain.


	11. Chapter Eleven

A couple of days later found Dee driving in her new car with Mad in the front passenger seat and Bill sitting in the back. Bill was scowling as he was not a fan of the heavy rock songs that were currently blaring out of the stereo. Dee was singing along as she drove and she caught sight of Bill’s face when she glanced in the rear-view mirror.

“My car, my playlist, I’m afraid.” She commented but her tone didn’t sound sorry in the slightest. For his part, Mad was having a hard time restraining himself from pushing all the buttons he could reach to see what they did, going insane with curiosity.

“This is a nice little car, any reason you picked this one?” Mad asked a question in a bid to distract himself. Dee knocked the volume on the stereo down a touch so they could talk better.

“I didn’t want to get anything like a sports car because the insurance on it would be horrendous, plus I’m not really going to be using it enough to justify a huge outlay. I suppose you’d call this a mid-range car; it’ll do me for these little road trips where public transport would be impractical. I like dark red as well so that settled it for me.” Dee answered him, beginning to wonder if it might have been better to put Mad in the back as she watched him twitching as he stared at the windscreen heater button.

“Why did you learn to drive if you didn’t intend to have your own car?” Bill piped up from the back, lowering the window a little to let some air in.

“Well my dad actually taught me to drive when I was eleven years old. He liked motorsports so he’d take me to these private speedways where it’s legal for underage people to drive under supervision.” Dee smiled as she remembered those days at the raceway with her father. “It was great, he’d go around for a few laps, then we’d swap places and I’d do the next few. Anyway, when I was 18, I took an intensive program for people who already knew how to drive and got my license that way. It made me feel closer to my dad, I guess, in a weird way.”

“It made him proud, I’m sure of it.” Mad told Dee and she glanced at him with a smile of thanks. “Where are we headed anyway? You’ve been very secretive and cryptic.” Dee laughed at that description.

“Well, we’re nearly there so I guess there’s no harm in telling you now. Seeing as I’ve been to countless festivals in Wonderland, I’ve been wanting to take you guys to one in my world. We’re heading to a village that’s having their Annual Spring Festival today… it also just so happens to be the place where I grew up.” Dee answered as they left the carriageway and started going down some more rural roads.

“Damn! You should have said that at the beginning, I think more of the others would have been up for this in that case.” Bill commented as they reached the outskirts of the village and Dee found a good place to park.

“Nah, I don’t expect everyone to drop their own things whenever I invite them out, so it’s fine. Right, we’re going to walk into the village from here, it gets really snarled up with cars nearer the centre, especially around festival times. Don’t worry though, it’s not far.” The three of them got out of the car and Dee locked it up and she led the way for them.

They hadn’t been walking long before they came upon some stalls set up in a line, there was one that was selling homemade jam that caught Mad’s attention while one with hand carved wooden knickknacks drew Bill’s interest. Dee stayed with Mad and was currently trying to explain what a damson was.

“It’s a plum-like fruit. Normally pretty sour but when it’s in a jam it’s usually a lot sweeter due to the added sugar. It goes really well with cheese and some people even make it into gin because it has a dry taste. I quite like it myself.” Dee watched as Mad looked closely at the jar before he made up his mind.

“I’ll take it then, if I don’t like it then you can make use of it and it won’t go to waste.” Mad reached into his pocket and paid for the jam. The stall owner wrapped the glass jar in craft paper to protect it and put it in a bag. The pair turned away from the table and saw Bill approaching them.

“Look what I picked up for the twins! It’s a mosaic puzzle board, you take all the pieces out and have to figure out how they all fit together to go back in. They’ll love this.” Bill told them as he showed them his purchase.

“Uh-huh, don’t try and tell me you don’t intend to reverse engineer this so you can make your own versions, I know you too well.” Dee fixed him with a knowing look and Bill just shrugged helplessly at her, not even denying it. The trio carried on browsing all the stalls, Dee picking up a leather Celtic bracelet that she thought Ash might like. Before long they got to the village green where there were a large crowd of spectators standing around the outside in a square.

“What’s happening here then?” Mad asked as he looked around, Dee pointed out a group of primary school children who were waiting with a teacher to come into the square.

“Country dancing, first the little kids, then there should be some Morris dancing if I remember rightly. You’ll understand better if you just watch it rather than me trying to explain it.” Dee said as music started and the children filed into the green. They lined up in pairs and began to do a simple country dance with the spectators clapping the beat along with them.

“Be honest, Dee, you did this dance too when you were a kid, didn’t you?” Bill nudged her and she laughed and nodded. 

“Of course, I did, I did it every year until I went to secondary school when I wasn’t allowed to participate anymore.” There was no embarrassment in Dee’s voice at all, she loved dancing and she wasn’t ashamed of it. When the kids finished everyone applauded for them and then the crowds started to dissipate. “Looks like I was wrong, Morris dancing must be for the May Day festival.” She shrugged and turned to see where she should take the guys next when she heard a voice.

“I don’t believe my eyes! Dee, dear, is that really you?” The three of them turned to see an elderly woman in a warm looking navy coat with a matching hat, white hair poking out from beneath it.

“Mrs Underwood?!” Dee exclaimed before she rushed to give the woman a big hug, Mrs Underwood was even shorter than Dee so Bill and especially Mad seemed to tower over her. “Guys, this is Mrs Underwood, she was my next-door neighbour when I was growing up. Mrs Underwood, these are two of my friends, Mad and Bill.” Everyone shook hands and exchanged greetings before Mrs Underwood turned back to Dee.

“It’s so good to see you, dear, it’s been such a long time. Why, I think the last time I saw you was at your parents’ funeral.” Mrs Underwood had both of Dee’s hands in hers and gave them a tight squeeze.

“Yeah, that’s right… Sorry I haven’t kept in touch, things were a little… rough for a while. But I’m in a much more stable position now so I finally felt brave enough to come back.” Dee admitted, looking a little shamefaced at staying away for so long. Mrs Underwood patted the back of Dee’s hand.

“Good, you look like you’re doing well. You’re the absolute spitting image of your mother now. I can hardly believe you’re the same little girl that used to come running into my kitchen every time you smelled me baking cakes.” Mrs Underwood teased, getting a laugh out of Mad and Bill, while Dee covered her face with a slight blush.

“I’ve got a lot better at making my own cakes. I’ll come and see you soon and I’ll bake you one, I promise!” Dee’s offer got a grin out of Mrs Underwood who nodded.

“That would be wonderful, dear, I won’t keep you any longer. Take care, my girl, and I’ll see you soon hopefully!” With that, Mrs Underwood bid them all goodbye and headed off. Once she was gone Dee let out a nostalgic sigh.

“Wow, that was a real blast from the past. It’s so nice that she still remembers me.” Dee admitted as the three of them turned to keep exploring the festival together.

“I’m tempted to go drop in on her myself, I’ll bet she’s got a million embarrassing stories of things you got up to when you were a kid.” Bill laughed as Dee gave him a protesting push at being teased.

A little later they had come to the end of the stalls, all of them having picked up a few more nice things. Dee had just bought a small bouquet of freshly cut flowers when Mad asked her.

“Are we done? Shall we head back to the car?” Mad asked, watching as Dee sniffed the mixed bunch of carnations and roses.

“Not yet, there’s one more place we need to go.” She answered as she led them away. Bill had noticed that Dee seemed to have become melancholy, and when they reached their destination, he realised why. They were at a cemetery in the shadow of a small church. 

Even though Dee hadn’t been back here since the day of the funeral, she knew exactly where she was going. When she came to a stop in front of a particular gravestone, Mad and Bill walked away a few steps to give her some privacy. Dee knelt down, putting her bouquet down so she could tidy up the gravesite a touch before she laid down her flowers.

“Sorry I haven’t been here at all. Though I think you both know that doesn’t mean I forgot about you, far from it. I thought I was happy living by myself after I finally got over the things that people did to me in the three years after you died. Looking back, I realise there’s a difference between being happy and just being not sad.” Dee pulled up weeds with her hands as she spoke, removing stray twigs and pebbles.

“A year ago, I was alone and not sad. Today, I have a group of brilliant friends and my life is filled with laughter and adventure. I’ve seen things that I could have only dreamed about before. I’m happy, I’m loved and I’m in love. I wish you both could have met Ash and my friends. They’re all good people that I trust completely.” Once the grave was pristine, she picked up her bouquet and removed it from the plastic, placing the white carnations and roses into a stone flower vase and arranging them so they sat nicely.

“I miss you guys so much, but I’m going to be ok. I promise I’ll come by more often too.” Dee collected up her rubbish and the green waste, getting to her feet. She smiled at the guys and they walked back over to her, Mad giving her a warm hug while Bill went down on one knee in front of the grave and bowed his head. 

“Hey there, sir, ma’am, I’m Bill. I’m sure you already know that Dee is someone who doesn’t take care of herself very well but don’t you worry, because I’ll make sure to look after her for you. I promise.” Bill spoke in a quiet voice before getting back to his feet where Dee pounced on him, giving him a hard hug with tears in her eyes.

The three of them walked back to where they’d parked the car, Mad and Bill swapped places so that Mad wouldn’t be tormented by buttons he wasn’t allowed to press. They drove off and left the village, but they hadn’t been driving for too long when the engine started misfiring.

“Oh no, what the hell is going on here?” Dee swore under her breath and managed to pull into a layby where she stopped the car, popping the bonnet before getting out. Black smoke started pouring out of the engine making Mad and Bill get out of the car as Dee shouted in alarm.

“What’s happened?” Mad asked as Dee pulled out her phone to call out her breakdown service. “I’m assuming this shouldn’t be happening because it’s a new car, right?” Dee nodded at him in answer as she spoke to someone on the other end of the phone and told them their location so they could send someone out.

Twenty minutes later and a mechanic had arrived to take a look at the engine. He decided the most likely cause was misfuelling, diesel being put into the petrol car by accident. He drained the fuel tank at the side of the road but the sparkplugs would need replacing and the tank and engine would need cleaning out so the car needed to be towed to a garage.

“There’s no way I filled up with diesel this morning, the goddamn nozzle is bigger on the diesel pumps so I’d have realised before I pulled the trigger.” Dee had her arms folded over her chest with a face like thunder as the three of them sat in the cab of the tow truck while the mechanic drove them back to the city. Bill hid a sigh, she’d said that at least twenty times already, but there was no other reasonable explanation for how diesel got into the fuel tank. Bill stared out of the window as silence fell over them, this incident making their nice day out end on a sour note.


	12. Chapter Twelve

The next day and Dee was in Wonderland to visit Lory, she walked past Alice’s statue and took a moment to look at the flowers. Citizens often came and left them here in respect for Alice and her hitherto unknown contribution to the continued existence of the realm. They also kept the area around the statue neat and tidy, making it a very peaceful place for people to come and visit. So much so that Bill had been commissioned to make a few benches to install and create a small plaza.

Dee noticed that the plaque had been amended, adding Alice’s middle and surname. She looked up at the little girl’s face. _‘I keep wondering what you would have done if you’d been given the choice. You may have only been seven but you were compassionate and caring, you might have done the same thing anyway. Please keep watching over Wonderland, Alice, and help us defeat the Bandersnatch when the time comes.’_ Eventually Dee approached the glade, looking around for prying eyes before placing her hand on a tree trunk.

“Lory, it’s me.” Dee whispered and the tree in front of her disappeared and she walked into the clearing, she blinked in surprise at seeing Noir, Mad, Opera, Ruber and Sakuto there as well as Lory herself. “Uh-oh, looks like it’s time for a big experiment then.” She joked as she joined them and Noir snickered with a smile.

“Yep, we’ve got a couple of hypotheses we want to try out today. Ruber, how’s Dee’s magic level?” Noir asked Ruber who came closer and examined Dee’s ‘Heart’.

“Full to the brim by the looks of it, we’ll need to give Ash our thanks.” She commented, smiling as Dee rolled her eyes at her before taking position sitting in the grass with her friend.

“Ok, ladies, first thing we want to do today is test whether Dee’s ‘Heart’ magic can be stored in a different vessel.” Mad told the two of them, waving his cane and an empty potion bottle appeared in his hand. “Lady Lory, if you could hold this, please. Dee, you do your transfer as you normally do but Lory, try to pass the magic straight into the bottle. Keep an eye on your power level to make sure you aren’t accidentally using your own energy.”

Both of the women nodded, Dee taking Lory’s hand while she held the bottle in the other. As normal, the pair of them gained a slight aura of light around them as a sign that the energy transfer was taking place. It only took a few moments before it became apparent that something was going into the vessel, so the mages asked them to keep going for now.

“You’re not yourself today, Dee, what’s wrong?” Lory asked her with a small frown, having sensed that something was off. Dee sighed heavily with a small shake of her head.

“Honestly, Lory, I feel like I’m losing my goddamn mind lately. I put things away in my flat, then I can’t find them, then I find them somewhere else and I don’t remember putting them there. I’ll be out somewhere; get home and realise I’ve left something behind even though I’m sure I checked that I had it with me. Then yesterday I somehow put the wrong fuel in my car when I would swear to the Heavens that I didn’t, I’m seriously beginning to doubt my sanity.” Dee shook her head and looked down at her lap with another deep sigh.

“You’re probably just preoccupied with something or other, I’m sure it’s nothing to be concerned about. Everyone can be a bit scatter-brained at times. If it keeps happening for much longer, then it might be something to investigate but I’d try not to worry about it too much.” Lory told her, trying to comfort her. Sakuto silently came and sat next to Dee, not being a mage, there was little he could do during these experiments except offer moral support but he wanted to be involved in looking for the solution to Lory’s power issues. He placed his hand on Dee’s back and rubbed it slowly to try and soothe her anxiety and dejection.

“What’s happening with the Bandersnatch situation?” Dee asked to change the subject, not wanting to dwell on her issues too much and make everyone worry about her.

“I’ve made the speed charms, now we’re looking into how to seal the Bandersnatch. Or more specifically what we can seal it in, it needs to be something it wouldn’t be able to break out of but also something that can’t become unsealed by accident from our side. We’ve got a few ideas, hopefully we’ll be ready to make our move soon.” Mad explained, filling Dee in on their progress so far.

“Alright, let’s have a look at this bottle.” Opera took the potion bottle and put a cork in the top, holding it up to look at the contents. “Is this Dee’s magic, Lory? And not yours?” She asked.

“Yes, it was pretty easy just to pass it straight through and into the bottle.” Lory answered her with a nod. Noir grinned at hearing that and Mad let out a small cheer.

“Brilliant, that gives us new options. It was all well and good Dee and Lory doing these transfers to keep Lory’s power supply topped up but that was only going to be a solution for one lifetime.” Noir explained as he wrote in his notepad. “As things stood the only option seemed to be that we’d need to bring a woman with a ‘Heart’ from the Other World to Wonderland every generation and convince her to supply the magic Lory needs.”

“Which wouldn’t have been ideal, there’s always the chance our descendants could get impatient and perhaps kidnap and force someone into that position as a quick and easy fix. So, we wanted to see if there was a way we could store your excess ‘Heart’ magic over your lifetime.” Ruber added with a nod, waving her short sceptre and a jug of lemonade and some tumblers appeared in the grass.

“So, in essence, you’re going to milk me?” Dee asked as she picked up the pitcher of lemonade and tried her hardest not to burst out laughing as everyone else’s face showed that they hadn’t quite thought of it that way. “Do you think you could get enough out of me to keep Lory going forever?”

“I think so, your ‘Heart’ holds roughly 500 cubic centimetres of magic when full, it took just under that to completely restore Lory’s power, which according to her, should last at least a century depending on usage rates. If that’s right, then we’d only need to fill a bottle this size for fifty years of power.” Opera was trying to keep her explanation as simple as possible by omitting the exact equations which were a little complex.

“But it doesn’t look like there’s hardly anything in that bottle.” Dee frowned as she looked at it. Mad patted the top of Dee’s head and she looked up at him.

“We didn’t do the transfer for very long. According to Opera, you’ve generally been giving Lory 50 cubic centimetres before you get tired. We’re hoping as you get used to the process, you’ll be able to transfer more.” Mad told her in a reassuring voice. “We also need to factor in how fast your ‘Heart’ refills. At the moment it’s getting completely topped up between sessions but that might change as we draw more out.”

“We still have a lot of experiments to do to answer those sorts of questions so we can come up with a sustainable schedule that doesn’t do you any harm.” Sakuto added, happy that Dee seemed to be a little perkier now, having been distracted from her previous worries. She was just happy that she could be of use to them all.

“Well, for arguments sake, what would happen if my ‘Heart’ got completely drained of magic?” Dee asked, looking instinctively to Noir as he wasn’t one to beat around the bush or sugar coat things.

“It would break, and you wouldn’t be able to love anymore, though you’d keep your memories.” Noir told her, watching as Dee gulped at hearing that. “Obviously we don’t want to even run the risk of emptying your crystal. So, with that, we have one more little experiment we want to run today to test another aspect of the transfer mechanism.”

“This might be a little tough, that’s why we’re all here, just in case.” Opera carefully put away the potion bottle before rejoining them. “We want you to hold hands again, but this time, Dee, try and stop the flow of magic to Lory but without breaking physical contact. We want to see whether you have any control over the process or whether it’s completely involuntary.”

“Sakuto’s job will be to keep a close eye on you and pull you away if he thinks it’s too much for you so Lady Lory, please don’t let go until then if you can.” Ruber added as the four mages came to stand around the three of them in the clearing so they could observe closely. Dee took Lory’s hand again and the aura was back.

“Right, Dee, when you’re ready, try to stop the magic coming out of you.” Mad’s face and voice were serious as he focused on his task. Dee nodded and closed her eyes and tried to concentrate her will, there was a slight flicker in the glow around her while Sakuto watched as Dee’s face twitched as she tried to control her power.

“Good, we saw a reaction. Keep trying.” Noir encouraged Dee and she grit her teeth as she redoubled her efforts. It felt like Dee was mentally wrestling, like she was trying to smother a huge angry snake with a blanket. Just as she thought she’d clamped down on it, the snake would find a weaker spot and force its head out once again.

From the outside, everyone could see fluctuations in the aura as a physical manifestation of Dee’s internal struggle. Although the light dimmed considerably, it never completely went out.

“Enough.” Sakuto suddenly spoke out, Lory dropped Dee’s hand and she opened her eyes. Her forehead was covered with sweat and she was out of breath. “Are you ok? Your nose started to bleed. How do you feel?” Sakuto asked, handing Dee his handkerchief before he picked up a glass of lemonade and held it out to her.

“I have a headache, that was really hard…” Dee wiped her nose before going to take the glass, her hands were shaking badly so Sakuto kept a hold of the glass as she drank so she didn’t spill it.

“You did really well, it answered a lot of questions we had. It looks like you can exert some control over the transfer mentally, but breaking physical contact is still the best and most efficient way.” Opera placed her hand on Dee’s forehead and muttered something and the headache disappeared.

“Alright, come on guys, let’s leave these two alone to actually have a conversation without us staring at them.” Mad declared and they started to get their things together. Just as they were about to leave, Noir stopped and turned back around.

“Hey Dee, about what you said before, about us ‘milking’ you. I know you were probably joking but if you ever actually feel like you’re being used like livestock, I want you to promise to say so straight away and all this, everything, we’ll stop it and work something else out.” Noir didn’t need to look at the others for confirmation, he knew they’d feel the same way as he did. Dee smiled at them all, touched by the consideration they were showing her.

“I was joking but if that changes, I promise to tell you, thanks.” Dee informed them, getting a satisfied nod from Noir and they made their way out of the glade. Once they’d left, Lory spoke up.

“Are you really ok with this? I know these experiments take a lot out of you; I just don’t want you to feel obligated to do it.” Lory eyed Dee in concern but she just smiled warmly at her as she said.

“Don’t worry about it, there’s actually nothing else I want more than to be part of the long term solution for Wonderland. But let’s stop talking about work stuff and get to the things we can’t talk about in front of the others!” Dee’s eyes sparkled in enthusiasm and Lory laughed, giving her an agreeing nod.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains graphic violence, strong language and peril.

Dee was using her laptop in the study in her flat, she was finalising her application to enter the cake competition now she had a design she was happy with. She usually applied before she started practising but she’d been unsure about whether she could come up with something for this one, hence the change from normal practice. Just as Dee sent it off, she thought she heard a floorboard creaking from elsewhere in the flat, she got up from the desk and headed into the living room.

“Ash?” Dee called out as she looked around; he’d said he might pop by later today after he finished helping Irena out with some gardening work in Santorina. There was no answer so Dee just shrugged. _‘Hearing things again, I guess.’_ She thought to herself, about to go back to the study when a sudden voice made her jump out of her skin.

“You really should lock your door; you never know who might just walk in.” A dark haired man stepped out from inside the boiler cupboard under the stairs, he grinned nastily as he pulled something out of his pocket. “Though that wouldn’t stop me, seeing as I already have a key. You should look after your handbag better too.”

“Kieran…” Dee whispered, frozen still in shock. Kieran gave a sarcastic little bow before straightening up and taking a deliberate step towards her. Dee started to tremble unconsciously, she wanted to run but it was like her feet were nailed to the floor with fear. 

“You’re the one whose been messing with my head, you found me.” Dee spoke in a tiny voice, she felt like she was sixteen again, she could almost feel her self-confidence disappearing as if sucked up by Kieran’s presence. He laughed and tossed the keys up into the air and caught them.

“Of course I did, I noticed you in the coffee shop long before you spotted me. I’ve been waiting a long time for the chance to get even with you. It’s been a lot of fun watching you and your friends, you never even knew I was here.” Kieran took another two steps towards Dee who backed up away from him but hit the wall behind her.

“Get even with me? You’re the one who fleeced me, manipulated me and turned me into a shell of a person who constantly doubted herself. I did nothing to you!” Dee glared at him, feeling the resentment beginning to bubble up inside her as she thought of how he’d used her.

“Oh, I beg to differ, princess! When you split, the rent didn’t get paid. Eventually the landlord came to evict me with some bailiffs. When I tried to stop them taking my things, there was a fight. I was arrested for assault and spent the best part of two years inside, all because of you.” Kieran rushed towards Dee but she was quicker, diving away from him into the kitchen, putting the counter island between the two of them.

“Your stuff?! Not one thing in that flat was ever yours! And how dare you blame me for your own actions! You’re an utter psychopath!” Dee was definitely more angry than afraid right now, her adrenaline was pumping but she knew Kieran was bigger and stronger than her so she had to keep her distance from him until she could escape.

“Well well well, looks like the timid little kitten grew up to be a cat with claws! Let’s see how sharp they really are then.” Kieran’s eyes had a maniacal glint to them as he made a feint to the left to force her to the right. Dee realised her mistake too late and he managed to grab hold of her by the wrist, she instinctively picked up the nearest thing to her, the kettle, and hit Kieran on the side of his head with all her strength, making him stumble and let her go.

Dee turned and tried to run to the front door but Kieran grabbed a hold of her by her hair and dragged her backwards, throwing her to the floor with an angry growl. Dee landed heavily and winced, staring up at Kieran in terror as he stood over her, there was blood on his face from where she’d hit him and he leered down at her.

“Well this view certainly brings back memories. You’ve filled out well, you used to be such a scrawny little brat. Though, you make more noise with that lad than you ever did with me. So, what do you say? For old times’ sake?” There was something unhinged in Kieran’s smile as he tried to dive on top of her, but Dee used her straight leg throw trick to send him flying behind her. Dee scrambled to her feet and bolted for the door again, she managed to open it but Kieran’s arm appeared above her head, slamming it closed.

When Kieran tried to grab her in his arms, she elbowed him in the face and twisted out of his clutches. In fear for her life, Dee turned and ran up the stairs to the second level, she had to get away somehow. She ran to her vanity table and picked up her totem, but Kieran barrelled into her and she lost her balance. He punched Dee in the face before pushing her clear over the railings where she fell to the living room below.

Dee landed awkwardly across the couches with her left arm underneath her and she heard a distinctive snap, crying out in shock and pain. With tears in her eyes she looked up at Kieran glowering down at her from above, the blood all over his face from his broken nose making him look even more menacing.

“You’re going to pay for that, you little bitch, you’re going to suffer and I’m going to be the last face you ever see!” Kieran growled at her. Dee held her breath, the moment she saw him turn to run down the stairs, she grabbed her stained glass jewellery box again and closed her eyes to cross over.

Ash and Mad were in Irena’s front garden, they had been weeding the flowerbeds while she planted some climbing rose bushes, winding them around a trellis. Ash laughed as Mad cursed when he got his hand stung by a milk thistle again.

“You need to grab it by the stem to pull it out, not the lea-”

“Ash! ASH!” Dee's terror filled screams coming from his house made Ash’s blood run cold. He jumped to his feet and vaulted over the stone wall that separated his house from his aunt’s. Ash slammed open his front door, Mad almost banging in to the back of Ash as he paused for a second to work out where Dee was.

Her shouts were coming from their bedroom so he sprinted into the room and found Dee stood by the chest of drawers, calling out his name, over and over, crying and shaking in fear. Dee had her totem in her right hand and Ash sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth at seeing that her left arm was broken and at an unnatural angle.

“Dee! What the hell happened?!” He asked as he finally reached her side, his voice full of horror and alarm, his hands hovering as he was unsure where was safe to touch. Mad and Irena came closer too, seeing Dee’s lip was swelling up and she was developing a black eye.

“K-Kieran! K-Kieran was in my flat! H-he’s been watching me, messing with me, he was going to kill me! He -” Dee didn’t get another word out before the jewellery box she was still holding exploded in a shower of splinters and glass. Dee shrieked in fright and collapsed to the floor in hysterics, trying to clutch her bleeding hand to her chest but moving her broken arm just made her cry out even more. 

Ash threw himself to his knees, not caring about the glass at all. But when he tried to hug Dee, she flinched away sharply in panic and fear and Ash drew back, looking helpless, unsure what to do.

“You’re alright, sweetheart, you’re safe here, he’s gone.” Irena spoke in a warm, soothing voice as she carefully got down on the floor next to Dee as she sobbed, being mindful about not touching her to start with. 

“No one can hurt you here, you’ll be ok, I’ll take care of you, sweetheart. It’s ok, don’t be scared.” When Dee lifted her head to look at her, Irena slowly reached out and started to stroke her hair, still speaking to her in the same tone. Ash felt someone place their hand on his shoulder and he looked up.

“Come on, let’s let Irena calm Dee down… we need to get the others.” Mad’s eyes were complicated, he didn’t want to leave her side but he also didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was. Ash didn’t want to move either but he did so reluctantly, getting up from the floor and the two of them left and closed the bedroom door behind them.

Mad’s message into the group chat didn’t mince words. 

:: Come to Santorina. Dee’s been attacked. :: 

Everyone assembled in record time, congregating in the living room. Ash and Mad apprised them of the situation, about how they had found Dee and what she had told them. None of them could believe that the mental slips she had been complaining about lately had been orchestrated by Kieran to make her feel like she was losing her mind.

“I’m going to find him, tie him to the back of my bike and drag him through a _fucking river_! You should have let me at him when we saw him at the café!” Joker was incensed, visibly vibrating with pure rage.

“Leave some for the rest of us, Joker!” Bill added, internally berating himself for breaking his promise to Dee’s parents so soon after he’d made it. Cardia was silent but his eyes were as hard as stone. He had one hand on the hilt of his sword and the other on his medal, ready to go to Other World and seek Kieran out.

“He dies tonight.” Ash was always a man of few words, but his rage was conveyed all the same. He was furious and worried, torn between ripping Kieran to shreds with his bare hands and staying by Dee’s side.

“The way she flinched away from Ash, he had better not have touched her like that.” Mad’s voice was low and barely restrained as he glanced towards the closed bedroom door. The sound of inconsolable hysterics had thankfully stopped but it was clear that Irena was still comforting Dee. Opera placed a hand on her brother’s arm and gave it a calming squeeze, it was hard not to think the worst considering the state Dee was in but they needed to keep their heads.

“There will be nothing left for them to identify him with once I get through with him.” Noir muttered as he checked his claws to make sure they were still razor sharp. The murderous air over the group was almost palpable.

“Stop this! Right now!” Sakuto’s raised voice rang out, making everyone turn to Sakuto in surprise while his ice blue eyes flashed in anger. “Dee has never once expressed a desire for revenge against those that have harmed her, has she? So how about instead of thinking of your own selfish feelings, you start thinking about Dee and what she wants and needs?” Everyone except Joker all looked down at the floor chastened and shamed by Sakuto’s scolding. Joker seemed less willing to let go of his righteous fury.

“Sakuto’s right. Killing Kieran wouldn’t make Dee feel any better and you know it’s true, Joker. What’s important right now, what we need to do is somehow make Dee feel safe again.” Opera’s additional words of wisdom finally got through to Joker and his shoulders sank in realisation. Dee needed her friends, not a vigilante mob.

“I suggest once we’re done here, we all go to the other world, make sure Kieran’s gone and secure Dee’s flat, maybe add some things to it, like a chain lock or a panic alarm. We’ll have to see.” The guys nodded, agreeing with Opera’s action plan. They all looked up sharply as the bedroom door opened and Irena slipped out.

“How is she, Aunt Irena?” Ash asked her, watching as Irena sighed and shook her head like she couldn’t quite believe what she’d been told.

“She’s calmer now but she’s still pretty shaken up. I managed to get the full story of what happened. Seems this man has been living in a cupboard under the stairs…” Irena started to relay to the group the events of that afternoon. While they were glad to hear that Kieran hadn’t actually raped Dee and that she’d managed to fight back somewhat, it was still obvious she’d been through a terrible ordeal. “Mad? Would you please go in and heal her up? I know her left arm is hurting her badly. I’m going to make her some tea.” 

Mad nodded and immediately went into the bedroom. It looked like Irena had managed to coax Dee from the floor and on to the bed, plus the wood splinters and glass shards had all been swept into one corner. Dee was sitting up against the headboard with her eyes closed, she opened them when she heard Mad approaching and his heart clenched in pain at how red and puffy her eyes were.

“Can I take a look at your left arm?” Mad sat down on the edge of the bed carefully, asking permission before he touched Dee so he didn’t frighten her. She nodded tiredly, wincing as Mad gently examined it for her.

“You don’t have to tread on eggshells around me. I’m ok.” Dee told him; her voice raw from crying so much. Mad waved his cane, fixing the break in Dee’s forearm before waving it again to treat the leftover pain and swelling.

“You’re pretty far from ok and you know it. Stop putting up a front and let someone look after you for a change.” Mad gently admonished her as he moved on to her right hand. There was a pretty big laceration on her palm from when the jewellery box exploded.

“Force of habit, I guess.” Dee’s voice had an undercurrent of exhaustion as the adrenaline from the attack had faded. “What happened with my totem?”

“My guess is Kieran probably smashed it in your world. It exists simultaneously in both realms so when it broke there, it broke here too. I’ll need to make you a new totem, any requests?” After finishing with the cuts, Mad summoned a small bowl of warm water and a cloth, cleaning the blood off of Dee’s hand.

“Oh! I have no idea, surprise me?” Dee was caught off guard by the question but managed a small smile. Seeing that made Mad feel a lot better so when he’d dried Dee’s right hand, he took it in his and squeezed it.

“I’m so glad you’re safe. You mean the world to everyone here, including me. I’d be completely lost without you. How can I be a hat and tea obsessed ray of sunshine without my Queen of all things cake-like sitting next to me?” That sentiment drew an even bigger smile from Dee and she hugged him before Mad continued. “I’m so sorry, we should have taken you seriously when you said you hadn’t moved things or left them behind.”

“It’s ok, even I didn’t believe me for a lot of it. Kieran always loved playing mind games.” Dee squeezed his hand back before she shivered in dread. “I need to change the locks, and call the police. I need to make sure he hasn’t done anything to the car, and clean up…” She started to ramble until Mad covered her mouth gently with his hand.

“What did I just say about letting us look after you for a change? Leave it all to us.”


	14. Chapter Fourteen

When the bedroom door opened again, those in the living room were surprised to see Dee was still sporting a painful looking black eye and split lip. At seeing the questioning looks, Dee explained.

“If I’m going to report Kieran to the police for attacking me then I need some evidence that he actually hit me. Don’t worry, I let Mad heal the broken arm and ribs from where he pushed me over the railings.” Joker was cursing under his breath as Ash stood in front of Dee, tilting her face up to examine the damage with a frown. “It’s ok.” She insisted.

“No… no, it’s definitely _not_ ok.” Ash shook his head and pulled Dee in to a firm hug. After a couple of moments there was a pointed ‘ahem’ from Bill.

“I’m about to spontaneously combust if I don’t get to hug the life out of her soon and it’s your living room that’ll suffer if that happens.” Bill declared, lightening the mood and sparking a ripple of laughter through the room. Once everyone had had the chance to hug Dee and Irena had given her some tea, she turned to address them all.

“So, I’ve been ordered to let you guys sort out the flat, but I’m still coming with you. If I don’t go back now then I never will.” Dee’s face was determined so they knew it was useless to argue with her right now. Opera rolled her eyes but wisely didn’t comment.

“I was considering opening a direct gate to just outside your door but that might be hard to explain if the police are there, the neighbours might have already called them.” Opera theorised but Dee shook her head.

“Actually, it should be fine, my downstairs neighbours are away on holiday this week and I don’t think the noise should have gone any farther down than that, so go for it.” Dee explained. Opera nodded and readied her staff; she recited her incantation and tapped the floor and the gate opened showing the hallway outside Dee’s apartment.

The front door was slightly ajar, Ash had his greatsword drawn and he cautiously pushed the door open fully and crept inside followed by the others. Dee was at the back of the group with Bill on one side, Opera on the other and Noir behind her. As the other five fanned out to search every nook and cranny, Dee took in the mess Kieran had made of her flat.

“He’s destroyed everything…” She breathed out as she looked around. He’d tore the place apart looking for her after her unexplained disappearance and when he couldn’t find her, he’d taken his fury out on everything she owned. 

Kieran had pulled down her shelves, smashed all her dinnerware, he’d slashed her couch to bits and her laptop was nothing more than a pile of scrap circuitry. It wasn’t until Noir put a hand on her shoulder that she realised she was shaking.

“Don’t worry, we can probably fix most of it with magic after the police have been.” Noir told her, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Joker, Sakuto, Ash, Cardia and Mad came back over to them once they’d completed their search.

“He’s not here, more’s the pity.” Joker put his knives away. “I wouldn’t go in the downstairs bathroom if I were you, it’s covered in glass. He smashed the mirrors and the shower screen.” Dee sighed but nodded to show she understood.

“I was kind of hoping he’d still be here. If only so we could hold on to him until the police arrived. It’s not knowing where he is and when he might turn back up that scares me.” Dee shivered, she jumped at the sound of a door closing. She turned around to see that Noir had shut the front door and was standing in front of it, murmuring and drawing symbols on to it with his hands.

“Looks like that spell is going to take him a while. Why don’t you call the police and I’ll find a locksmith?” Bill nudged Sakuto as he pulled out his phone, Sakuto agreed and did the same. Seeing their phones reminded Dee of something.

“Change my phone number. Another thing that needs to be done. I don’t know if Kieran has it but I don’t want to take that chance.” Dee muttered as she walked to the boiler cupboard and looked inside. There were empty food wrappers, towels and other evidence that someone had been spending a lot of time in there lately. “I can’t believe there was someone else living in my flat and I didn’t even notice. I’m such an idiot.”

“No, you’re not, he’s just insane. Don’t worry, we’re going to make sure he doesn’t get within a mile of you ever again.” Cardia put an arm around Dee, giving her a warm squeeze as he made his solemn promise.

Later and Dee slid open her balcony doors and stepped out into the night, the police had finally left. They’d taken pictures of the damage to her flat, plus some of her face and her other bruises. She had told them what happened but she needed to go to the station tomorrow for a full statement and there was currently a manhunt going on for Kieran based on her description.

The locksmith had been and changed the locks, fitting a hefty door chain as well. Now Mad and Opera were fixing what they could with magic while Joker, Bill, Cardia, Sakuto and Ash put the flat back together again. Dee saw Noir was also getting some fresh air and stood next to him.

“You ok? Whatever spell you put on my door really took it out of you.” Dee asked, looking at him in concern. Noir half smiled, that was just like Dee, it didn’t matter what happened to her, she was always the first to worry about someone else.

“It was a complicated spell, but it was worth doing. From now on, no one who means you harm will be able to set foot inside this flat. This is your home; it should be a place you always feel safe in. Kieran took that away from you so I wanted to give it back.” Noir wrapped an arm around Dee’s waist and rested his head against hers as he continued. “It’ll give me peace of mind too, otherwise I’d never be able to bring myself to leave and I’d end up a permanent third wheel with you and Ash.” Dee gave a small huff of amusement, and she snaked an arm around his waist too and gave him a squeeze.

“You’ve got a heart of pure gold, Noir of Gentiana.” Dee told him. Noir chuckled and shushed her.

“Don’t say that out loud! You’ll give away all my secrets.” He insisted, happy to hear Dee laughing. “Come on, let’s go back inside before we get too cold.” The pair of them left the balcony and went back into the living room.

“Wow! This place is already looking much better!” Dee exclaimed as she looked around. All the floors had been cleared of debris from Kieran’s rampage, the couches looked like new, Ash was putting things back into the kitchen cabinets, while Cardia swept the floor. Joker and Sakuto waved down from the split-level, cleaning up in her room and the ensuite. “Where’s Bill got to?”

“Oh, he went out to get us all some food from the takeaway. I don’t think any of us feel much like cooking.” Mad was sitting in the armchair, looking tired. Opera was sprawled out over the smaller couch, apparently asleep. “We fixed everything that wasn’t electrical, we don’t know enough about your technology I’m afraid, so you’ll have to replace the laptop, tv, stereo and things like that.”

“That’s a lot less than I was going to have to replace as things stood so don’t you worry about it.” Dee shook her head as Noir sank himself down on the big couch. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but has anyone been down and looked at my car?”

“I did earlier while the police were here, all your tires are slashed and he’s scratched up the paintwork. We can see about getting it taken to a garage tomorrow.” Ash came over, having finished up in the kitchen. There was a knock on the door and Joker opened it up to reveal Bill, laden down with plastic carrier bags full of food.

“People around here are so nice! I happened to mention that Dee had had her flat wrecked by a burglar and they gave us extra of everything!” Bill put the bags on the counter and started to unpack it all. “It’s nice to know that there are still good people out there.” Mad had given Opera a shake and the two tired siblings came over along with Noir.

“It definitely is. This smells so good but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to eat it before I pass out into it.” Opera yawned as she took her portion and a fork, pulling up a stool.

“I’m sure I can help you out there, I’m so hungry I can hardly stand it.” Joker commented as he piled his plate up ridiculously high. Sakuto was watching him with disbelief.

“Just be careful you don’t choke yourself, Joker, it’s not like the food is going anywhere.” Sakuto shook his head. Cardia reached for a bottle of coke with a smirk.

“Well it is… it’s going cold.” He quipped with perfect timing, making Dee laugh, she covered her mouth with her hand so she didn’t cough over everyone.

“Oww! I nearly inhaled that mouthful, thanks Cardia!” Dee told him; he just raised his bottle in acknowledgement with a smile. Dee looked over all her friends around her and couldn’t help saying. “Thanks, you guys, for everything. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Anytime. Anywhere. What are friends for?” Bill declared, getting a chorus of ‘Here, here’s from everyone else. Their lively conversation was interrupted when Ash’s phone rang, he didn’t recognise the number but he answered it.

“Hello? Oh, sure, yeah. She’s right here.” Ash lowered the phone and mouthed ‘police’ to Dee. They’d given them Ash’s number because Dee’s new one wasn’t due to be activated until the next day.

“Hello, yes, this is she.” Dee took the phone from Ash and listened to the officer on the other end. “… I see. Are you absolutely sure? …Yes, I understand. Thank you for letting me know. Goodbye.” The call ended and she gave it back to Ash.

“They’d found Kieran and arrested him, he was drinking in the same pub he always did, the idiot. But the coward couldn’t face up to the consequences of what he’d done so he took an overdose in the back of the van on the way to the station and killed himself.” Dee felt oddly numb as she relayed that story, unsure about how she should feel about the fact Kieran was now dead.

“At least he can’t hurt anyone anymore.” Mad’s shoulders relaxed and he let out a long breath. “What happens with the police now he’s dead?”

“You can’t charge a dead person so that’s it as far as today goes. At least I don’t have to go and give a formal statement tomorrow and I can put this behind me starting from right now.” Dee informed them, getting a multitude of dissatisfied and disgruntled looks. She could hardly blame them, things ending in this manner did leave a bitter taste in her mouth too.

“Oh well, there’s nothing we can do about him any longer and you won’t feel like you’re looking over your shoulder all the while so that’s something to be pleased about.” Opera was the first to shake off her displeasure. “Sorry, Joker, looks like I’m getting my second wind so you’ll have to make do with your own plate.” The jovial mood came back as the group went back to their food.

That night, Ash and Dee were alone in the flat. The others having headed back to the dorm for the night after they’d eaten and did a little more cleaning up. Ash was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for Dee as she brushed her teeth in the ensuite.

“Are you sure you want to sleep here tonight? Everyone would understand if you wanted to stop at ours.” He asked when she came back out. Dee crossed the room and sat down next to him.

“I’m sure. I can’t let Kieran win; he’s already robbed me of the chance to see him put away for this. I can’t let him chase me out of the flat I love too.” Dee told him; Ash raised a hand to her face carefully tracing her bruised eye, he had the jar of healing cream which he began to apply with a gentle touch. Now the police process was at a premature end, there was no reason not to heal the rest of Dee’s injuries.

“It’s ridiculous how strong your heart is. No matter what’s happened to you in the past, it never broke your spirit. Bruised it, yes, but not broke it.” Ash smiled at her, moving to caress her cheek with the back of his fingers. “It’s one of the things I love about you. But I want you to know that it’s alright not to be strong sometimes, admitting that you were scared isn’t a weakness, it’s perfectly normal. It’s ok to be not ok.” 

“I understand, Ash, and thank you. To be honest, if I didn’t know I had you right here beside me, I’m pretty sure I’d be running through today in my head, over and over, making myself sick with worry and fear. But with you here, I know there’s nothing to be frightened of.” Dee took Ash’s face in her hands and lent into him, giving him a deep kiss that surprised Ash initially. But he recovered quickly, returning the kiss and pulling Dee in to his lap so he could wrap his arms tightly around her.

“That’s enough for now, you’re completely exhausted, I can tell.” Ash told Dee when the kiss finally broke, chuckling at her pout, kissing her on the forehead.

“Your self-restraint is truly admirable.” His girlfriend grumbled sarcastically at him as she got out of his lap and obediently climbed into bed. Ash did the same, shifting closer so he could hold Dee in his arms from behind. “Goodnight, Ash.” She murmured as she yawned involuntarily.

“Goodnight, sleep well, don’t worry. I’ll be right here.” Ash whispered soothingly into her ear, not intending to drop off until he knew she was sound asleep… and, in truth, probably not for some time after that.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

A few days later and Dee was sitting on a train, she was heading to a zoo with Humpty, Dumpty, Joker, Bill, Ash, Sakuto and Cardia. She was doing ok after the attack; she was a little quiet and more easily startled but that was understandable really. Dee was pretty sure that taking her mind off of the events with Kieran was an ulterior motive of everyone when the trip was initially suggested the day before.

“Are you sure it’s ok for us to be doing this? What about the Bandersnatch situation?” Dee looked over to Sakuto and Cardia who were sitting opposite her. Ash was in the seat next to her while Joker, Bill and the twins were sitting in the four seats against the window on the other side of the carriage.

“It’s absolutely fine, there’s been no movement from Eventide at all. Opera and the others are finalising the plan for sealing it. All being well, we should be moving tomorrow. So, we might as well enjoy today while we can.” Sakuto insisted, glancing over as he heard Joker tell the kids to calm themselves down and stop making such a racket.

“Plus, the Queen can get a hold of us in an emergency, especially now the phones work across the realms without huge amounts of magic.” Cardia was looking out the window at the passing scenery. “Oh, quick! Shut the windows!” He suddenly announced, shutting the one nearest to him and Bill did the same without questioning him.

“Why did you say that?” Dee questioned him with a look of puzzlement, judging from the way Bill had just obeyed the instruction, she couldn’t help feeling she was missing something.

“We’re coming up to a river…” Cardia answered in an explaining tone, but when Dee just gave him a look that said _‘And?’_ he continued. “Water would have got into the carriage when we crossed it.” Dee’s forehead creased, even more confused now.

“No, it wouldn’t have, we’re travelling over it not under it… wait, don’t tell me, trains go underwater in Wonderland?” Dee asked, finally understanding what was going on as everyone nodded at her. “That explains it, well don’t worry, we’re going over a bridge so it’s fine.”

“That probably means trains here don’t fly either, right?” Ash queried, making Dee study his face, trying to decide if he was making fun of her. “Thought not.” Ash finished after a moment or two.

A little later and the group had arrived at the Zoo, before they walked up to the ticket office, Dee stopped everyone and turned to them.

“Right, just to remind you all. Animals don’t talk in this world so you’re going to get weird looks if you try to speak to them. If in doubt about how to act, try looking at some other groups of people or ask me. Kids, don’t run off on your own, we’ve got plenty of time so we will get everywhere.” Dee informed them, hoping they could get through the day without anyone thinking they were deranged. With that said, they paid for their admission and were given a map of the place.

“Looks like it’s mostly set up like a giant circuit, if we head this way then we should be able to see everything without much backtracking.” Bill looked over Dee’s shoulder as she opened out the map, indicating which way they should head around.

“Sounds good to me, we should be ready for lunch by the time we hit the food court so it should work out alright.” Dee folded the map back up and put it in her pocket for now, checking to make sure they had everyone and headed for the elephants to start with.

The elephants had a large enclosure surrounded by a wall that was a little too tall for the twins so Ash picked up Humpty and put him on his shoulders while Bill did the same with Dumpty.

“Look look!” Humpty pointed in excitement. “There’s a baby one! It’s so small!” Joker had brought his video camera with him, filming the herd as the baby elephant splashed about in the water.

“Elephants tend to have quite a tight knit social structure, all the other adults help in raising the babies of the group in a sort of communal parenting arrangement, so they get the benefit of the whole herd’s knowledge.” Sakuto had read quite a few non-fiction books from this world, especially about endangered species.

“Communal parenting? Sounds like what Wonderland does with these two!” Bill quipped lightly as he bounced Dumpty and pretended that he was going to drop him, making the eight year old laugh with delight. Joker had panned his camera around the enclosure to see what others shared the space with the elephants.

“*Snrk!* Well, that unicorn has let itself go!” He commented with a laugh. Dee let out an exaggerated sigh from behind him.

“That is a rhinoceros, Joker.” She informed him in an exasperated tone, making Ash crack up as Joker blushed from his mistake. “Though in parallel to the unicorns, rhino horn is a prized component in a lot of shamanistic rituals. The black rhino especially is critically endangered in the wild.”

“There’s a lot of differences between our worlds but it looks like there’s a lot of similarities too.” Cardia spoke up in a thoughtful tone as he used his phone to take some pictures of the rhino. 

“Are they doing something to look after the ones still in the wild, Dee?” Dumpty asked as Bill put him back down, he was a little bit more sensitive to these sorts of things than his brother.

“Yes, there’s some pretty intensive anti-poaching efforts going on, plus breeding programs to try and boost the numbers. But there’s always more to be done.” Dee placed her hand on Dumpty’s head and rubbed it affectionately, smiling down at him.

“What in Heaven’s name is that?!” That shout came from Ash who was standing next to the giraffe enclosure, looking up at one while it grazed on leaves at the top of a high tree. Bill jogged over to Ash, staring at the giraffe with widened eyes before turning his head back to Dee.

“You don’t get to say Wonderland is weird anymore, ok?! At least we don’t have spotty camels with seven foot long necks and legs that look like they’ll snap at any moment!” Bill told her in such an outraged tone that Dee could only hold her breath and nod. If she replied she was going to go into a hysterical fit and get them all kicked out.

A little later and the group were inside the aquarium house, the twins had been spotted by a member of staff who had invited them to try an internal viewing platform. In essence it was a small bubble in the floor of one of the larger tanks, only big enough for one person (or two children) to stand up in, where they would be surrounded on all sides by the marine creatures swimming around.

“Just look at them!” Dee exclaimed as she took some of her own photos. Humpty and Dumpty’s faces were full of wonder as a large sting ray passed over the bubble, so close that they could see its eyes. When the zoo keeper brought them back around, the pair were literally bouncing, talking over one another and tugging on Joker’s arms.

“Right ok, don’t forget to say thank you!” Joker declared loudly, trying to calm the eight year olds down a touch. It didn’t have much of an effect as Humpty and Dumpty just shouted their thanks to the lady before yammering at Joker again. The group moved on, coming into a large viewing tunnel under the main tank where much larger sea creatures were kept.

“Oh my - *snrk* What a… ridiculous looking shark!” Sakuto was looking up at a hammerhead shark and it was only his royal upbringing that was keeping him from rolling around on the floor, even so, he had tears in his eyes as he covered his mouth with both hands.

“I’ve noticed something. Starfish, swordfish, hammerhead shark, jellyfish, seahorse…” Cardia listed the marine creatures on his hand. “A lot of the time, the people who named these things just said what they saw, didn’t they?”

“You’re not wrong, not at all. I guess naming things is harder than it sounds.” Dee admitted with a laugh. “But of course, these aren’t the scientific names that tell one subspecies from another. These simpler names would be what ancient cultures called them or something very similar and the names just stuck.”

“You’re so smart, Dee!” “Yeah, is there anything you don’t know?” Humpty and Dumpty were staring up at her with stars in their eyes, making her laugh.

“Oh, there’s plenty I don’t know, like I don’t know how to ride a griffon, for example.” Dee told them and they grinned at her.

“We do!” “We’ll teach you!” Humpty and Dumpty nodded in unison as they made their promise.

After the group had had their lunch, they came to the Petting Zoo. A lot of zoos had at least a small one filled with domestic animals and livestock because children sometimes got disappointed at not being able to interact more closely with the wild animals.

“It’ll be nice for the kids to get a little hands on experience of some animals today.” Dee was sitting on a haybale with Ash, watching as a keeper helped Humpty to bottle feed a small lamb, Joker filming the utterly in love expression that he had on his face.

“You say it’s for the kids but you’ve had that guinea pig in your lap for a while now.” Ash teased her as he reached out and stroked the small animal too, getting a few squeaks. Dee was about to answer when Dumpty tore past them, screaming and running for his life while a bantam chicken chased after him. Then Bill followed, running after the pair of them and shouting.

“It’s just a chicken! It’s not going to hurt you!” Sakuto was the one to save the day when he picked the frightened eight year old up, the chicken settling for pecking angrily around Sakuto’s feet. Cardia was quick to come over with a tiny fluffy chick in his hands for Dumpty to stroke in the hopes he wouldn’t end up scarred for life by chickens.

“There you go, how can anything this soft be scary, right?” Cardia told him gently as Dumpty slowly unburied himself from Sakuto’s chest as he petted the tiny chick.

“Come on, let’s see if there’s any other lambs that need feeding…” Sakuto declared as the three of them went back towards the barns.

Eventually the fun day out had to come to an end. The group were back on the train to the city. The twins were both asleep, curled up with the soft toys they’d picked out from the souvenir shop. Dumpty had a black rhino and Humpty had chosen a lamb. Bill was now the proud owner of a giraffe teddy that Dee had bought for him in honour of his earlier rant, she’d got Sakuto a hammerhead shark too.

“Good job I brought a spare battery and an extra memory card. I got loads of great footage.” Joker was watching back some of the things he’d filmed that day on his camera. “Some good stuff to embarrass the twins with when they are older too.”

“You are pure evil, you know that.” Cardia spoke in a half-serious tone as he shook his head at Joker before turning to look out the window again. For her part, Dee was enjoying a peaceful moment after their long day. Ash was sleeping with his head on her shoulder, she smoothed some of his hair out of his face before noticing Sakuto was watching her.

“Good day?” He asked Dee, hoping they had succeeded in keeping this week’s events completely out of her mind for a while.

“Yeah, I had a great day. Lots of good memories.” Dee nodded but kept her voice low so she didn’t wake anyone up. Sakuto smiled at that answer, glad everyone seemed to be relaxed. Tomorrow was going to be another challenging day, but he trusted that they’d get through it together.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

The next morning and everyone was gathered near the swamp, the atmosphere was a serious one. They didn’t know nearly enough about the Bandersnatch so they had to make sure to be ready for anything. Mad had already handed out all the speed charms. They were small glowing stones attached to leather cords that could be worn as a necklace or a bracelet. Noir was outlining the plan of action to the non-mages of the group.

“We’ve decided to seal the Bandersnatch in a magic mirror. Opera will then keep it in her cabin in the Wandering Woods as its guardian.” Noir showed them an ornate hand mirror. “The Bandersnatch needs to be still for us to cast the sealing spell so we’re going to set a magical spring trap to capture it…”

“…Which is where we come in.” Sakuto cut in, his hand resting on the hilt of his rapier as he spoke. “The trap is going to be set by the Lumina ruins so we need to lure the Bandersnatch there. The stones will make us as fast as it is and the shadows won’t be a problem with the speed advantage.” Bill stuck his hand in the air when Sakuto finished speaking.

“Question: How are we going to find it to start with? It’s a pretty big swamp.” Bill asked the mages and Ruber waved her sceptre and a sparkling light descended over them all.

“That was a linking spell. Now we’ll be able to hear each other’s voices no matter how far apart we are from one another. Starting from the ruins, you six will fan out and walk in a straight line in one direction each. Then when one of you finds the Bandersnatch, call to the others and everyone will congregate to try to lure or drive it back towards us when we give the signal that the trap is ready.” She explained to them all.

“Everyone understand what they have to do? We’ll set off for Lumina now, we need to be careful that it doesn’t notice us until we’re ready. If we didn’t need to conserve our magic, I’d have cast an invisibility spell to protect us till we got there. But no matter, are we ready?” Mad was all business right now as the group nodded back at him. It was now or never.

A little later and Dee was walking carefully through the swamp in her assigned direction. She had her stiletto drawn and at the ready. Back at the ruins, the magicians were busy laying their spring trap, it had to be as strong as they could make it because the sealing spell was complex and would take time to cast.

“No sign yet.” Dee heard Cardia’s voice like he was standing next to her, even though she knew he was somewhere off to the east. 

“Watch for shadows. It came for me and Dee after we’d fought some.” Joker’s assigned direction was northwest of hers. There was a murmur of affirmations from the other searchers. Dee felt her anxiety building; the farther they walked, the harder it was going to be to lure the Bandersnatch back to the trap.

“Got some shadows!” Ash’s voice rang out and Dee could hear the sounds of swinging steel not too far away from her. She stiffened at the sound of a familiar angry snarl and she gripped her stiletto tighter.

“Everyone, head for Ash! This is it!” Sakuto’s voice took charge and Dee took off running towards the sounds of fighting. She reached where Ash was fighting with shadows, they wouldn’t have even been much of a match for him before but with the speed charm, they might as well have been standing still.

However, their sheer numbers had the potential to become a nuisance and bog them down, which was exactly what they didn’t need right now. Suddenly Bill came flying through the undergrowth, rolling to a stop in the mud, Dee ran towards him in alarm and helped him up.

“Thanks, Bandersnatch got me good with its tail. Joker and Cardia are tag-teaming it now. Ash, stop wasting time with the small fry and get in there!” Bill winced but he grabbed his fallen bow, running back into the fray with Dee on his heels. They burst into a clearing where there was a fierce fight going on.

Cardia was currently locked in a contest of strength with the Bandersnatch, using his longsword to block it from gouging his eyes out with its claws while it slashed away at his plate armour using its second set of arms. The charms evened out their speeds but the beast was still incredibly strong.

“Hey Toothy! Come on, I’ve got a score to settle with you!” Joker was goading the Bandersnatch, trying to make it leave Cardia alone and come after him but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect. Sakuto was caught up with a mob of shadows so he couldn’t offer any help either. So, Ash sprinted towards the Bandersnatch, swinging his greatsword high above his head.

“Ssssstill too slow!” The creature hissed as he jumped clear just in time. Ash had managed to nick its shoulder, but to their dismay, the cut healed before their eyes.

“Damnit! It’s self-healing, we definitely can’t hurt it!” Bill cursed as he took his chance to try and push the Bandersnatch backwards with some precisely aimed arrows. Meanwhile Dee stood at the entrance of the clearing, holding off the shadows that had followed Ash. _*Dodge, Counter, Parry, Strike*_ The shadows were painfully slow so Dee fell into a comfortable rhythm, dispatching one enemy at a time without trouble.

“DUCK!” Sakuto’s voice shouted out and Dee dropped to the floor instantly and the Bandersnatch’s arms clamped on nothing but air above her head. She rolled to the side and jumped to her feet again to put some distance between the two of them.

“We’re ready, bring it back.” Everyone heard Opera’s voice in their ears. Cardia jumped at the Bandersnatch with a war cry but he was batted away with a vicious swing of its arms. The beast was stalking towards Dee with unnerving focus in its yellow reptilian eyes.

“Looks like you have a new admirer.” Joker commented even as he unsuccessfully tried to draw the Bandersnatch’s attention. Dee didn’t know what it wanted with her, however, its undeniable interest in her was going to work in their favour.

“Seems so, but I’m already spoken for! Right! Keep the shadows off my back and cover me!” She shouted before she turned and ran through the undergrowth. Dee was glad for all the running she’d done with Bill, the woman of a year ago wouldn’t have had the lungs for this sort of sprint. Dee could hear the Bandersnatch thundering its way through the mangrove trees behind her and any shadows that appeared in her line of sight were struck down with an arrow before they could hurt her.

“I’m nearly there, where am I going?” Dee was out of breath but she kept her voice low so as not to tip the Bandersnatch off.

“Head straight for the glass monolith, then take the left side and dive forwards when you hear our signal.” Noir’s voice spoke in her ear. The muscles in her legs burned but she couldn’t slow down now. When the ruins came into view, she couldn’t see the magicians anywhere. They were probably hiding until they could spring their trap. Dee raced towards the glass outcrop, trying desperately not to slip on the wet moss as she veered to the left side as directed.

“NOW!” Mad’s voice rang out and Dee threw herself into a forward roll, scrambling to her feet just in time to hear Ruber’s scream of frustration. There were strings of purple light strewn around like an orb spider’s web but they’d set the trap off a split second too late and only the Bandersnatch’s tail had been caught. The beast roared angrily, slashing at the bonds with its sharp claws as the magicians came out of their hiding places and Sakuto’s group arrived at the ruins.

“Quickly! Restrain it! Don’t let it get away!” Opera readied her staff but it was too late, the Bandersnatch sliced through the magical bonds holding it and charged at Dee who was too exhausted to react in time. It grabbed a hold of her right wrist to stop her using her stiletto, wrapping its tail around her lower legs to immobilise her.

“Ssssstay back!” The Bandersnatch warned as it pressed one sharp claw to Dee’s jugular vein, stopping everyone in their tracks. Its forked tongue snaked out and touched Dee’s face and she grimaced, unable to recoil as she couldn’t move. 

“Yesss, we thought sssso. Ssshe tastes different, not of this place. Wasss she dragged here against her will, like usss?” It was then Sakuto noticed to his horror that the Bandersnatch and Dee were emitting an aura of soft light. The beast seemed to realise this as well and hissed in delight.

“What power sssshe has! We can finally have our revenge on this world!” With its two free hands, the Bandersnatch clamped on to the sides of Dee’s head. The aura brightened considerably and Dee’s whole body stiffened as she screamed out, gripped with a terrible pain in both her chest and head.

Ash looked on helplessly, watching anxiously as blood began to run from Dee’s nose. But no one dared take a step forward as the Bandersnatch still had one eye watching them for any movement as it forcibly pulled more magic out of Dee’s ‘Heart’. 

In fact, it was focusing its attention in the wrong place as, despite the pain, Dee reached a shaking hand into her left pocket and took something in her hand – the talon the phoenix had given her. It was warm to the touch and with the razor sharp tip protruding from between her fingers, she swiped downwards at the Bandersnatch’s underbelly.

The effect was instantaneous, the Bandersnatch released Dee with a roar of pain, jumping backwards with a smoking slash wound running diagonally down its abdomen. Dee collapsed to her knees gasping for breath, not having the strength to keep standing as she clutched one hand to her chest and the other to her head. 

“Did you see that?! It’s not healing! It must be vulnerable to fire!” Noir shouted out, suddenly there was a glimmer of hope in what had seemed like an impossible fight.

“Then it’s _mine!_ Mad, lend me some magic. Joker, get Dee somewhere safer. Everyone else, cover me.” Ash adjusted the grip he had on his greatsword and swung it to generate a gust of wind that blew the Bandersnatch away from Dee. Then Mad waved his cane and Ash’s blade was engulfed in flames and he rushed to engage Bandersnatch in combat.

The energy that the Bandersnatch had stolen from Dee had enabled it to summon bigger, faster shadows that poured into the area like a black wave crashing against the shore. Joker ran and skidded to a stop next to where Dee was still kneeling in the mud.

“Alley oop!” He quipped as he pulled her over his shoulder and ran over to the glass monolith, placing her down close to one of the sides so nothing could get them from behind. The mages stood in a semi-circle in front of the pair of them and blasted or slashed at everything that tried to get close. 

Meanwhile, Sakuto, Cardia and Bill were doing their best to stop the shadows from getting in the way of the deathmatch Ash was currently having with the Bandersnatch. In terms of speed and strength, the two were evenly matched. The Bandersnatch’s four arms were dangerous but it was being cautious of Ash’s flaming greatsword.

“What would he have done if he’d been dragged from hisssss home by force?” The Bandersnatch asked as the pair circled each other warily. “Had he been imprisoned for lifetimes like ussss, he would seek hissss righteous retribution too, we know it!” The reptilian creature snapped its jaws angrily as it lunged at Ash but he jumped away easily.

“The problem with revenge is that it never evens the score, it just continues the cycle of hurt forever. Wonderland would have left you to your freedom in this swamp if only you’d have lived your life peacefully.” Ash replied calmly. The Bandersnatch snarled and lunged at him again but this time, Ash stood his ground, blocking its claws with his greatsword.

Unable to stand the heat, the beast jumped backwards but Ash slashed the Bandersnatch across its body, leaving another diagonal slash in mirror image to the one Dee had inflicted on it before. Then with a spin that looked like it belonged more to a dance than a fight, Ash followed up with a strike that pierced right through the Bandersnatch’s chest and the fight was over. When Ash withdrew his blade, the beast sunk to the ground, already lifeless. 

The shadows dissipated in to clouds of black smoke the moment the Bandersnatch fell and everyone breathed a sigh of relief before going to check up on Dee. They found her still holding a hand to her chest with a pained look on her face while Joker held her other hand and rubbed her back worriedly.

“It still really hurts, please tell me my ‘Heart’ isn’t broken.” Dee begged Opera when she knelt down in front of Dee and pulled her hand away so she could see it clearly.

“No, it’s ok, it’s not broken. The Bandersnatch stole about a bottle’s worth of magic; the chest pain is because it was drawing power out way too quickly.” Opera’s words reassured Dee and she managed a small smile. Joker and Opera then helped Dee to her feet. “Come on, let’s get out of this dark and depressing place. Can you walk?” However, before Dee could answer the question, Ash swept in and lifted her in his arms.

“Ash?! What are you doing? This isn’t necessary! I can walk!” Dee cried out in surprise and embarrassment as she put an arm around his neck to stabilise herself. Over Ash’s shoulder she could see the smirking faces of her friends and Bill called out after them.

“You know there’s no talking to him when he’s like this! You might as well just go along with it and enjoy the ride!”


	17. Epilogue

The next day and Dee was visiting Opera in her cabin, she had asked Dee to stop by so she could check up on her after yesterday.

“How’s the chest pain and headache?” Opera asked as she had a good look at Dee’s ‘Heart’, writing down her observations on a small pad.

“They eased down a lot after the fight until it was just a dull throbbing before I went to sleep and it’s gone now. I also slept for sixteen hours straight and Ash was so concerned that he got Mad apparently.” Dee replied, she was sitting on the table while Opera looked her over.

“You were just exhausted from losing so much magic in one go. He should have remembered how much you slept initially after the distortions issue; you were only up for a few hours at a time before going back to bed for days.” Opera finished up. “‘Heart’ is looking good! Oh, but while you’re here, take this!” Opera grabbed a hand mirror and gave it to Dee.

“Isn’t this the mirror from yesterday? Why are you giving it to me?” Dee asked in confusion as she looked into the mirror, stroking the ornate enamel work.

“It is, we originally made it for the sealing but obviously that didn’t work out. It seemed a shame to waste it so I turned it into your new totem.” Opera replied and Dee gasped in surprise.

“Are you sure? It’s such a pretty mirror!” Dee asked but Opera just nodded at her. “Thank you! It’s lovely! Though Noir said it was a magic mirror, does it do anything I should be aware of?” Dee hopped down from the table as she spoke.

“No, it was the fact it was a sealing vessel that made it magic so it doesn’t do anything special. Though Lory can talk to you through mirrors so you can use it for that if you want.” Opera explained before she went over to her worktable, planning to continue on with what she was currently researching. 

Dee put her new totem down and started to browse the numerous potion bottles that Opera had on her shelves. Some had uninformative labels that just said ‘Drink Me’, while others seemed to be ingredients like ‘Dragon Tears’ but it was a pretty blue bottle that caught Dee’s eye.

“Opera, what does this potion do? All it’s got on the label is a picture of a fish tail.” Dee asked as she handed the potion to Opera. She checked the bottle and grinned at Dee.

“It’s a mermaid transformation potion, if you drink it you turn into a mermaid for a bit.” Opera pressed the bottle back into Dee’s hand. “Wanna try it out? There’s a lake just up the trail from my cabin.” Dee blinked at her for a moment before she comprehended what was being said to her and broke out into an excited smile.

“Can I? I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a mermaid… w-when I was a kid, I mean, of course.” Dee stammered with a slight blush across her cheeks, making Opera cackle at her.

“Of course. Yeah, sure, go for it! But drink it in the water so you don’t beach yourself, it works pretty quickly.” Opera got up from her chair and practically pushed Dee out of her cabin. “See that trail? Follow it that way to the lake, you can’t miss it! Have fun!” And with that the front door was shut in her face.

Dee was a little dumbfounded for a moment before she looked down at the potion bottle in her hand, shrugged and turned to walk up the path. She came upon a beautiful and pristine lake not long after, the place seemed to be deserted so Dee took off her clothes and hid them behind a rock before walking into the water with the potion.

“Gah! The water is so cold! Not a good season to be a mermaid!” Dee complained out loud, wading out until she was just about treading water. She pulled the stopper out of the potion bottle and downed it in one. “Blech! It tastes like seawater!” The empty potion bottle disappeared in a puff of smoke, then there was a flash of light and Dee realised she couldn’t move her legs independently of one another anymore.

“Oh wow!” When Dee looked down, she had a beautiful blue mermaid tail with a large fin, she giggled when she saw she was even wearing a stereotypical clamshell bra. It took her a few minutes to figure out the most efficient way to use her tail to swim, but once she got the hang of it, she was racing up and down the lake, having the time of her life.

“Dee?” When she looked over at the unexpected voice, she saw Ash standing on the shoreline, looking at her in shock. Dee swam over to him, careful not to run aground in the shallows.

“Hey Ash! Opera let me try out a mermaid potion! It’s soooo much fun! But what are you doing here?” Dee showed off her new tail as she spoke, watching as a grin spread over Ash’s face once he got over his initial surprise.

“Me and Mad came over to see Opera and she said you were out at the lake and that I should come see you. Mad wanted to come too but then Opera pretty much sat on him and wouldn’t let him leave for some reason. Now I understand why.” Ash’s story made Dee laugh at the image it brought to mind, and she made a mental note to thank Opera.

“So? Come on in! The water’s – well, freezing, but still, come on in and swim with me!” Dee laughed as she swam backwards from the shore trying to entice him.

“Not sure anyone could resist a Siren call like that!” Ash answered honestly as he pulled off his top. Suddenly there was a sharp buzzing noise and a semi-opaque dome appeared all around the lake. “Oh? Looks like Opera and/or Mad put up a barrier so no one can come and spy on us.” Ash commented at realising what was going on before resuming getting undressed.

“We have very considerate friends.” Dee admitted with a smile, unable to hide a laugh as Ash walked in to the water and flinched at the cold. “I did warn you.” Poor Ash’s teeth were chattering hard as he swam over to her.

“I’ve always hated being cold. How come you’re not shivering?” Ash asked her; Dee floated over to him and draped her arms around his neck.

“I think I’ve got used to it, plus I’ve been swimming about for a little while now. I’m a much stronger swimmer with this tail than I would be normally… and that gives me an idea!” Dee grinned mischievously, surprising Ash with a sudden very deep kiss, breaking it way too soon to say. “How about I promise to warm you up _IF_ you can catch me?” And with that she dived under the water and swam away with a flick of her powerful tail.

“Oh! You are on, Siren lady!” Ash shouted, swimming after her and getting a delighted laugh in response. The two lovers started playing a game of cat and mouse, Dee was definitely a lot faster in the water at the moment and she was able to stay just out of Ash’s reach, so he decided to change his tactics. Dee had just surfaced and she looked around, trying to see where her pursuer was, but there was no sign of him.

“Ash?” Dee called out, feeling a little concerned at the stillness of the lake. Suddenly Ash sprung from the water behind her, wrapping his arms around her torso while she shrieked in surprise but it was too late, she was caught. “Oh, that was mean! I was worried something had happened to you for a moment there!” She turned around in his arms and gave his chest a light smack in reproach.

“All’s fair in love and war. I caught you, I won, so now I want my prize.” Ash declared, but before Dee could answer, there was a flash of light and she turned back into a human. However, she initially forgot to tread water and sank under the surface for a second before Ash grabbed her and pulled her back up.

“Thanks, Hun, I forgot how my legs worked for a second there.” Dee held on to Ash’s shoulders while she coughed the small amount of lake water that she’d inhaled out of her lungs. “That was so much fun, I’ll have to ask Opera to make me another mermaid potion at some point so I can do this again.”

“Maybe get her to make two, I wouldn’t mind being a merman for a while with you.” Ash put his hands on Dee’s hips and swam backwards until they could both put their feet down on the lakebed and stop treading water, though the water was still up to Dee’s shoulder level.

“I’ll definitely ask her later… but now I seem to remember a promise I’m supposed to be keeping.” Dee pressed herself up against Ash’s body as she finished the kiss that she’d started before. Ash made a small noise of approval in the back of his throat as he returned the kiss. The pair of them both had flushed faces when they eventually had to break for air.

“Let’s get out of the water before we catch hypothermia, there’s a small cave near here, I’ll make us a fire and we can dry ourselves off before we get dressed.” Ash suggested and Dee agreed. The pair got out of the water and got to work quickly; Dee collected their fallen clothes while Ash got some firewood. Ash kindled the fire in the small cave as fast as he could and the two of them huddled together next to it in order to get dry.

The air in the hollow began to warm up and as Dee felt the feeling coming back into her limbs, she became very aware of how close Ash was to her right now. She could hear his soft breathing and feel his heart beating in his chest. At one point in her past, she would have said she loved Kieran, but she could see now that whatever that was, it was as far from love as one could probably get. So, she began to speak.

“When I thought the Bandersnatch had broken my ‘Heart’, I was so scared. If I couldn’t love you anymore, I honestly don’t know what I’d do. Sometimes I watch you walk out the room and I already miss you, as stupid as that sounds.” Dee stared into the fire as she spoke, her cheeks a touch pink as she made her confession. 

“When I had my very first serious crush, my mother told me that if you’re not willing to sound stupid, you don’t deserve to be in love. I didn’t get it back then. But now, I love you so much that every cheesy cliché I’ve ever heard about first love makes perfect sense to me.” If Dee had anything else she wanted to say, it was swallowed up by Ash’s lips on hers.

“I feel the exact same way…” He whispered to Dee when the kiss broke, resting his forehead against hers. “I look at you and I just want to be the best person I can for you… because I know that’s what you deserve, but I also know I’m not there yet but I’ll keep trying.” His sweet, selfless words brought a gentle smile to Dee’s face and she reached up to cup his cheek with her hand.

“Then let’s make sure that we always bring out the best in each other.” That sentence had the ring of an eternal vow, and so they sealed it with another kiss. _‘This. This right here. This… is love.’_

FIN


End file.
